''Calligrammes: Poems of Peace and War 1913–1916'', is a collection of

poem Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

s by

Guillaume Apollinaire Guillaume Apollinaire (; ; born Kostrowicki; 26 August 1880 – 9 November 1918) was a French poet, playwright, short story writer, novelist and art critic of Poland, Polish descent. Apollinaire is considered one of the foremost poets of the ...

which was first published in 1918. ''Calligrammes'' is noted for how the typeface and spatial arrangement of the words on a page plays just as much of a role in the meaning of each poem as the words themselves – a form called a

calligram A calligram is a set of words arranged in such a way that it forms a thematically related image. It can be a poem, a phrase, a portion of scripture, or a single word; the visual arrangement can rely on certain use of the typeface, calligraphy o ...

. In this sense, the collection can be seen as either

concrete poetry Concrete poetry is an arrangement of linguistic elements in which the typographical effect is more important in conveying meaning than verbal significance. It is sometimes referred to as visual poetry, a term that has now developed a distinct mea ...

visual poetry Visual poetry is a style of poetry that incorporates graphic and visual design elements to convey its meaning. This style combines visual art and written expression to create new ways of presenting and interpreting poetry. Visual poetry focuses on ...

. Apollinaire described his work as "an idealisation of

free verse Free verse is an open form of poetry which does not use a prescribed or regular meter or rhyme and tends to follow the rhythm of natural or irregular speech. Free verse encompasses a large range of poetic form, and the distinction between free ...

poetry and typographical precision in an era when

typography Typography is the art and technique of Typesetting, arranging type to make written language legibility, legible, readability, readable and beauty, appealing when displayed. The arrangement of type involves selecting typefaces, Point (typogra ...

is reaching a brilliant end to its career, at the dawn of the new means of reproduction that are the cinema and the

phonograph A phonograph, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration Waveform, waveforms are recorded as correspond ...

".Apollinaire, Guillaume, quoted in the preface by

Michel Butor Michel Butor (; 14 September 1926 – 24 August 2016) was a French poet, novelist, teacher, essayist, art critic and translator. Life and work Michel Marie François Butor was born in Mons-en-Barœul, a suburb of Lille, the third of seven chil ...

Gallery

File:Guillaume Apollinaire - Calligramme - Cheval.png, ''Cheval'' File:Guillaume Apollinaire - Calligramme - La Colombe poignardée et le Jet d’eau.png, ''La Colombe poignardée et le Jet d’eau'' File:Guillaume Apollinaire - Calligramme - Cœur, couronne et miroir.png, ''Cœur, couronne et miroir'' File:Guillaume Apollinaire - Calligramme - L'oiseau et le bouquet.png, ''L'oiseau et le bouquet'' File:Guillaume Apollinaire - Calligramme - La Mandoline, l’œillet et le bambou.png, ''La Mandoline, l’œillet et le bambou'' File:Guillaume Apollinaire Voyage.jpg, ''Voyage'' File:Guillaume Apollinaire - Calligramme - Venu de Dieuze.png, ''Venu de Dieuze'' File:Ilpleut.png, ''Il pleut'' File:Guillaume Apollinaire, Calligramme.jpg, A calligram from ''Calligrammes''Action: Cahiers Individualistes De Philosophie Et D’art, October 1920
Blue Mountain Project, Princeton University File:Guillaume Apollinaire, Calligram.jpg, A calligram from ''Calligrammes''

Notes

References

*Apollinaire, Guillaume. ''Calligrammes''. Preface by

. (Éditions Gallimard, 1995)

External links

''Calligrammes; poèmes de la paix et da la guerre, 1913–1916''
digitized original at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

''Calligrammes''
(full text)
''Calligrammes, for piano trio''
French poems 1918 books Works by Guillaume Apollinaire {{poetry-collection-stub