Experimental Latin American Poetry- Leo Boix at The Poetry School

Explore the dynamism, energy and political power of experimental Latin American poetry from the second half of the twentieth century, in a course that will examine this provocative movement from the early development of the genre to contemporary works of concrete, visual and digital poetry. We will look at seminal works by Oliverio Girondo and Susana Thénon (Argentina), Cecilia Vicuña, Nicanor Parra and Vicente Huidobro (Chile), Amanda Berenguer (Uruguay), Augusto and Haroldo de Campos, Décio Pignatari (Brazil), and Ulises Carrión (Mexico), as well as examples from El Corno Emplumado/The Plumed Horn, an experimental Latin American magazine from the 60's on the cutting edge of independent publishing. Most of these poets have delved into the plastic nature of words, creating poems in which word and image combine to create new and surprising realities. Among the topics to be examined will include political protest, urban post-modernity, digital approaches, queer theory, and translation. The class will aim to get students inspired by the sheer variety of voices that were  part of the Latin American experimentation movement, as well as encouraging participants to write a new visual/concrete poem.