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Poasis: Selected Poems, 1986-1999
Poasis, Joris's first major publication in the United States, highlights his work since the mid-1980s.
Pierre Joris's poems are characterized by an arresting mix of passion and intellect, by what Pound called "language charged with meaning." For Joris, a language is always a second language, and his poetry takes as its main concern the question of marginality and exile. He is unique in being an American poet comfortable in three languages, and his work is filled with a dynamic language play, cross-linguistic puns, and themes of speculation on language, translation, and nomadism. Poasis, Joris's first major publication in the United States, highlights his work since the mid-1980s.
Pierre Joris's poems are characterized by an arresting mix of passion and intellect, by what Pound called "language charged with meaning." For Joris, a language is always a second language, and his poetry takes as its main concern the question of marginality and exile. He is unique in being an American poet comfortable in three languages, and his work is filled with a dynamic language play, cross-linguistic puns, and themes of speculation on language, translation, and nomadism. Poasis, Joris's first major publication in the United States, highlights his work since the mid-1980s.
- GenresPoetry
218 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2001
About the author
Pierre Joris
69 books64 followersPierre Joris left Luxembourg at nineteen & has since lived in the US, Great Britain, North Africa & France. In 1992 he returned to the Mid-Hudson valley where he teaches poetry & poetics at SUNY-Albany. He has published some 40 books of poetry, essays and translations. Forthcoming in 2008 are Aljibar II (poems, a bilingual edition with French translation by Eric Sarner, Editions PHI) and Justifying the Margins: Essays 1990-2006 (SALT Publishing). Pierre Joris’ 2007 publications include the CD Routes, not Roots (with Munir Beken, oud; Mike Bisio, bass; Ben Chadabe, percussion; & Mitch Elrod, guitar) issued by Ta’wil Productions; Aljibar (poems w/ French translations by Eric Sarner, published in Luxembourg by Editions PHI) and Meditations on the Stations of Mansour Al-Hallaj 1-21(Anchorite Press, Albany). Other recent books include Poasis: Selected Poems 1986-1999,and A Nomad Poetics (essays), both from Wesleyan University Press. Recent translations include Paul Celan: Selections, and Lightduress by Paul Celan, which received the 2005 PEN Poetry Translation Award. 4x1: Work by Tristan Tzara, Rainer Maria Rilke, Jean-Pierre Duprey & Habib Tengour translated by Pierre Joris came out in October 2002 from Inconundrum Press, and Basic Books published his co-translation (with Ann Reid) of Abdelwahab Meddeb’s The Malady of Islam in 2003. With Jerome Rothenberg he edited Poems for the Millennium, vol. 1 & 2: The University of California Book of Modern & Postmodern Poetry. Green Integer published his 3 volumes of translations of Paul Celan: Breathturn, Threadsuns and Lightduress. Other translations include books by Abdelwahab Meddeb, Paul Celan, Maurice Blanchot, Edmond Jabès, Habib Tengour, Tchicaya U'Tamsi, Kurt Schwitters and Michel Bulteau into English, and by Carl Solomon, Jack Kerouac, Gregory Corso, Pete Townsend, Julian Beck and Sam Shepard into French.
Since 1967 he has been actively involved in little magazines: he published "The Clown," a poetry magazine, at Bard College from 1967-1969; edited "Corpus" ("A Radical Newspaper of the Arts") in New York from 1969-1970; founded and co-edited (with William Prescott) "SIXPACK" (A magazine of contemporary literature) in London & New York from 1972-1977, was poetry editor for “Paris Exiles” magazine in Paris from 1985-1986. He has been a correspondent for PO&SIE, Paris (edited by Michel Deguy) since 1986; for “Dédale,” Paris (edited by Abdelwahab Meddeb) since 1995 and for “Arapoetica”, Paris (edited by Abdul Kader El Janabi) since 1999.
Since 1967 he has been actively involved in little magazines: he published "The Clown," a poetry magazine, at Bard College from 1967-1969; edited "Corpus" ("A Radical Newspaper of the Arts") in New York from 1969-1970; founded and co-edited (with William Prescott) "SIXPACK" (A magazine of contemporary literature) in London & New York from 1972-1977, was poetry editor for “Paris Exiles” magazine in Paris from 1985-1986. He has been a correspondent for PO&SIE, Paris (edited by Michel Deguy) since 1986; for “Dédale,” Paris (edited by Abdelwahab Meddeb) since 1995 and for “Arapoetica”, Paris (edited by Abdul Kader El Janabi) since 1999.
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