ENGL 7453: Modernism In/And the Archive

 For this post, I've found a page from Blindman No. 2 that depicts a somewhat animal type figure with a vaguely human like head. The poem underneath says, "Recharge, please, recharge/ avec la chimie de ta salive/ l'accumlateur de mon coeur." This translates to mean, "Recharge, please, recharge/ with the chemistry of your saliva/ storage battery of my heart." I thought this poem along with the image made quite the comparison of a human to an animalistic being and then of a human to a machine. By implying that the heart is a battery that needs to be recharged, and that said battery needs to be recharged by someone else, the author creates the notion that the human is the victim of someone else- of whoever the poem is directed at. The human is both morphed with the machine and perhaps that causes the animalistic representation above the poem- because they are not entirely human. 

In reading the poem, I was immediately reminded of the cover of the war issue of Blast. The people depicted on the cover are drawn using very harsh lines and look almost as though they are made out of metal. Then, they are shown in a line and their arms are pointed out, at which point it appears that they are morphed into guns. This creates a very strong image of the human being one with the machine, like the poem I mentioned above. Because this depicts France during wartime, I think it suggests that French citizens at this time act like slaves to the machine. They go out and fight not because they want to, but because they are told to and they have these guns that they must use. The individual does not matter after he has picked up a gun and joined the armed forces. Then he looks like the men-machines depicted on the cover, like every other man, and he has the main purpose of fighting. 

http://dl.lib.brown.edu/repository2/repoman.php?verb=render&id=114459533...

http://sdrc.lib.uiowa.edu/dada/blindman/2/07.htm

Throughout issues of 291 I have found that the magazine in general is a lot more focused on art and music in comparison to BLAST and its interest in the war.  Both covers have similar drawings on the front cover. Blast, as we discussed in class, is directly related to the war and is depicting an image of soldiers in battle.  291 has a cover that is a little more difficult to interpret.  The sketching is most likely related to the section on the front cover “Economic Laws and Art”, which discussed the progression of art in America and the direction it is heading.  I chose this cover because not only was it the only Dada magazine I could read, but the cover also looked similar to Blast. There is another section on the cover entitled “Do Not Do Unto Others” discussing America’s restrictions that are imposed on oversea goods in a time of peace.  This section briefly touches on America’s relationship with other countries overseas and how we think of ourselves as dominant, which is why we restrict other countries from entering our own.

Also, inside of 291 there was another drawing with words on top of it, almost making up part of the picture.  I thought this was interesting because there is a section in Blast where Ezra Pound wrote poems and I thought it would be interesting to see his poems written out in the artistic format that 291 uses.

 As Courtney's post mentioned, I also noticed the contrast between the directness of Blast's allusions to the War with the (if any) illusions I found in Dada magazines. I specifically compared the war issue of Blast with the second issue of the Blind Man, a Dada magazine published in New York in May of 1917. Though the Blind Man is written during the war, it makes virtually no reference to the first World War. Instead, there was a streak of intense American patriotism. Throughout the magazine issue are thoughts on American art, on its potential and growth. Europen art is mentioned in general terms, with French art and some French language scattered within the issue. It seems that instead of mentioning/noticing the war going on in Europe, European art is focused on as a standard to aspire to. On page 10, there is a letter to the Blind Man affirming its work, with the author writing that the support the Blind Man lends to American art will cause people to say "yes, they had an art, back in New York, in the days following the Great War, an art that was a vitalized part of their life..." Essentially, the Blind Man's patriotism, which is reflected through letters from "Midwestern mothers" and American poetry/editorials, is through art rather than through National security. 

The War issue of Blast, on the other hand, speaks directly about the War. There isn't so much a feeling of patriotism, but there is a rejection of the war. Where the Blind Man perhaps rejects the war by refusing to mention it, Blast speaks directly against it. One piece, Vortex Gaudier-Brzeska (Written from the Trenches), is the perspective of a "sculptor" fighting in the French trenches. He speaks, rants almost, in a piece that seems put into Blast directly to repulse the reader from any feelings of approval about the War. He says that "IT WOULD BE FOLLY TO SEEK ARTISTIC EMOTIONS IN THESE LITTLE WORKS OF OURS" (35). This line, in particular, felt most aligned with the notions of the Dada magazines; that art has no place within a war, or rather that war has no place in art or life. The piece is followed with an abrupt blurb about the author's death within the French trenches, which works only to bring about stronger anti-war sentiments within the reader. 

I thought it would be interesting to compare an issue of the Little Review and an issue of the New Age, since I have some previous knowledge that both of them targeted higher-brow, elite audiences. I thought that in contrast to comparing the Little Review to a "every man's" magazine, it would be interesting to see how two elitist magazines differ or are the same. Both issues are from March of 1914, and I noticed two big differences.

1) Marketing/advertisement was reduced significantly in the New Age. Where the issue of the Little Review dedicated nearly the last 20 pages of the magazine to various advertisements, finding any marketing in the New Age was a struggle. The advertisements were relatively hidden in the New Age, and I could only find 3 small ones. Though the advertisements weren't for particularly elite items (cocoa, a restaurant, some books), their minimized placement was unique. The New Age also ended with an abstract art piece, rather than advertisements (as the Little Review does). This could show the desire of the New Age to leave the reader not with advertisements, but with images that are more elite.

2) Only the Little Review had advertisements for other magazines. The Little Review advertises for the Egoist and for Poetry, whereas the New Age definitely does not advertise for others. I think this speaks to the type of audiences each magazine is looking for. The Little Review may be looking for an audience that is likely to also read Poetry or the Egoist, whereas the New Age may be looking for an entirely singular/unique audience. 

In contrast to the prewar era where advertisment in French Magazines seems to be passive. We can see in a very aggressive if not threating advertisment to buy L'Encyclopédie Française as act of patriotisme. 

 files/userfiles/Mercure de France Apr_ June 1940.jpg

 In the first two issues of "little magazine" Rhythm, the absence of any advertisements suggests that the publication began with the support and patronage of a coterie of intellectual elite. John Middleton Murray, in his introductory article "Art and Philosophy," attempts to bring Bergsonian aesthetic theory into British culture by first pointing out, " in France it is a living artistic force." Throughout the magazine, French culture and artistic philosophies are glorified as a modernist standard toward which Britain's own artists, authors, and poets should strive. The magazine itself would go on to publish pieces entirely in French without translation (e.g. Francis Carco's "Aix en Provence" and "Les Huit Danseuses" in the second issue), indicating that the magazine's readers were most likely highly educated and fluent in multiple languages. 

Advertisements in Rhythm do not appear until the third issue (Winter 1911), the same issue containing the critical piece "A Plea for Revolt in Attitude,"in which Holbrook Jackson notes, that in order for "the modernist art movement...to fulfill its destiny, [it] requires to be accepted, not by a few but by a nation or a race," thus denying the magazine's seeming appeal to only a select few. Of course, in order to promote a revolution in art, one must therefore have the means to do so, and Jackson's "Plea" may have been included to provide justification for the advertisements (titled "select announcements") which suddenly appear in the back of the magazine's third installment, and would continue until the final issue in March of 1913. 

These ads, however, seem to contradict Jackson's message in that they appeal to the interests and accessibility of moneyed British intellectuals. The first ad to appear in the 3^rd issue begins with the French heading, “Photographies d’Oeuvres d’Art,” advertising the photographic reproductions of modern French masters (such as Renoir and Monet, as well as “The so-called Post-Impressionists”), located at 16 Pall Mall in London. The next add is for another radical journal, T.P. O’Connor’s Weekly. The final page contains a dense block of text, with language reminiscent of a critical review, advertising a volume printed by St. Catherine’s Press (same as Rhythm) that would reproduce drawings by Henry Ospovat. The advertisement—in keeping with the magazine’s theme—discusses the modernist art movement as an artistic revolution on par with the Renaissance.

 In vol. 47 no. 2 of Scribner's Magazine (1910), I looked at the layout of certain ads in between the content of the magazine. I first approached Scribner's Magazine because I thought it would be interesting to observe the same magazine that we talked about in class. The ads were mostly concentrated separated apart from the content of this issue of the magazine. I noticed, however, that in one section there was a lead-up to Theodore's Roosevelet's article about traveling in Africa. Following those short "Magazine Notes," there were a series of ads for homemade products before Roosevelt's actual article on African Game Trails. I noticed that the randomness of the ads seemed completely unrelated (and maybe in direct contrast) to the tone of the content surrounding it.

The content surrounding the ads is related to Theodore's Roosevelt's adventures through Africa, "an account of the African wanderings of an American hunter-naturalist." To the American public reading the magazine, these articles would be representing something foreign, uncomfortable, and related to nature. In almost direct contrast, however, are the ads that interrupt these two articles about African adventures. The first advertisement is for soap, with the image of a young girl playing with her porcelain doll. The next advertisement is for Shredded Wheat Biscuit. Both these advertisements relate entirely to domestic, comfortable American products. Their presence makes the articles surrounding them seem even more foreign to the reader, which is perhaps the intent. 

I opened the link to The English Review, Vol. 1, No. 4 and looked at what appears to be the first actual page titled, "The English Review Advertiser." This page then lists 7 different book titles, some with descriptions underneath and others with nothing more than an author and title. The first thing that I thought when glancing at this page is that there is no way anyone would give this a second glance today, particularly if it was the first page in something. A page with that much text is simply not aesthetically pleasing, something that ads try very hard today to be. The text does not stand out at all, and in fact, it almost seems like it would be a chore to read the entire page. But on one hand, it does say something about the dedication and attention span of readers at that time. If these advertisements actually worked, and I'm sure that they must have in some way because they are all throughout the magazine, then the reader must have read nearly everything on every page of the review. I think it's interesting that some of them did not include any description, like the first one titled, "The Bishop and the Bogieman." Perhaps they thought that title alone would be enough to lure in readers- I for one am curious as to what the plotline could be. 

In terms of the context of these ads, I think they fit within the terms of what else appears in The English Review and they fit the tone of the rest of the publication. People who were reading The English Review at this time certainly showed a dedication to reading, so it makes sense to advertise novels to people who are interested in reading. Now that I scroll through the thumbnails, I notice that the formatting for the ads is more inviting than most of the other pages, which just have straight text in the same font and typeface, etc. The ads tend to have boxes around them using thicker lines and some capitalized heads which are bigger than the rest of the text. So in that way, I suppose the advertisements are more aesthetically pleasing than the rest of the publication, which could have grown into what we are accustomed to in ads today.

http://dl.lib.brown.edu/repository2/repoman.php?verb=render&id=118342250...

For this assignment, I found a piece published in Rhythm in Vol. 1 No. 3 during Winter 1911. It's on page 32 and it's titled "Railway Vision" by Arthur Crossthwaite.

link: http://dl.lib.brown.edu/repository2/repoman.php?verb=render&id=115989415...

First of all, before I comment on this specific piece, I would like to point out that there are French phrases scattered throughout this issue of the magazine and an entire poem published in French on page 10 called "Petite Poème." This in an of itself says something to me about the relations between France and Britian, that a magazine published in London still includes things that I assume are for French readers since many Brits wouldn't know French. Likewise, by including a poem entirely in French without any translation or explanation of it in English, it's almost as though it is solely for an inclusion of a French audience.

But for the specific piece of "Railway Vision," one of the lines towards the beginning really stuck out to me. It says, "In Paris one talks and talks, in London one dreams and does." This line strikes me as giving an attitude of the time of how British people thought of Parisians- that they are simply all talk and no action. But as the piece continues, I got a little lost in the monologue of the author. It's almost as though he claims that London is where dreams can take place, in the beginning, but then he changes his mind during the course of the piece as he talks about art and the ability of an artist to do as he pleases. One of the last lines says, "And that phrase, 'The Art of Essentials' set me dreaming again of Paris and café-talks, and I saw vague ideal visions of a misty future, until the rasp of breaks and a hoarse 'Victoria!" brought me back to reality and London." So this last sentence is in direct contrast from the start of the piece and I particularly think it's amusing that at the beginning she said that in Paris you can only talk but in London you can dream, and then once she's back in London, she's dreaming about the café talks in Paris. I think in terms of relations between the two cities, this idea can offer some of the mutual fascination between the two cities. The two cultures are interested by one another and try to include one another, as shown in this piece and the inclusion of other French phrases and works in this issue. 

In the opinion section of The Crisis, Vol. 10, No. 3, I came across an interesting article entitled "The War," considering what effect The Great War would have on the status of Blacks in England, France, and the United States. The author weighs arguments from several different scholars, the first of whom, Saint Nihal Singh, predicts that the status of Blacks and Indians in the British and French empires will be forever changed due to recognition of their heroism on the battlefield. The second quoted author, Joseph Edward Chamberlin, questions the merit of that argument, and points to historical examples of Blacks fighting on behalf of their country. No improvement in social or economic status resulted from the participation of Black soldiers, going back to the Egyptians and all the way up to the Spanish-American War. While Chamberlin recognizes that "France is the only country that gives equality to the colored man; and presumably, in that country, the service of the Senegalese will not be forgotten," he doubts whether any real change will come about in "the white world at large."

The article goes on to quote a South African newspaper calling on the British to recognize the faithful service of the native African peoples in providing an enormous amount of wealth in gold to the empire during the war, as well as a Toronto newspaper warning against any one nation presuming to impose its values and society upon the world as a whole. It concludes: "Equality for all, because mastership for none!"

The author of this opinion piece reflects more widely-held views of the time, namely that France stands out as being more progressive on issues of race, and that both the British and French empires stand to lose a great deal of power and fortune if they do not recognize the contribution to their societies provided by the native peoples they rule. It is implied that those nations are to provide an example for the United States, where Blacks did not feel recognized for their contributions as soliders in the nation's wars, and where laws governing their treatment were so wildly inconsistent between states.

In the first issue of La Nouvelle Revue Française, Jean Schlumberger provides a mission statement. Unlike Wyndham Lewis' Manifesto, Schlumberger's is much quieter, and taken from a position of a sort of intellectual responsibility. He begins by pointing out that artists are faced with two considerations: those of taste or fashion, which are continually changing, but continually renewing over the course of centuries; and the more difficult considerations essentiels, in which the artist ("dans les moments les plus décisifs de sa vie) compares their own work to the canonical pantheon of past "masters," and utilize past rubrics of artistic "genius."

Schlumberger says that the difficulty of these questions draws together artists who agree on a certain set of answers, into literary groups. The strength of these groups, however, is dependent on agreement over a body of work which they recognize to represent their artistic ideals. So when something new comes along, like free verse for example, there must be a break from the old rules in order to allow new standards for new forms of expression.

This piece echoes much of our discussion from Tuesday, exemplifying the French spirit of renewal. Unlike the British sentiment to build on past traditions, Schlumberger asks the reader of this magazine to be open to styles and methods that will at first seem unfamiliar. In true French fashion, the piece ends insisting conservation of the purity of the French language, even while new stylistic choices are being made. Thus, even the break from tradition is coupled with some sense of cultural superiority. Conversely, the British possess this same sense of tradition in the recognition of past works of art, while the English language is constantly manipulated to fit the fashion of the time-period.

In looking for an example of British-French relations before the war, I decided to look through "The New Age" to find an example.  "The New Age" is a British literary magazine, and it specifically describes at the top that it focusses on politics, literature and art.  The fact that it includes politics gave me the sense that there would be some reference to the relationship with the French.  The pre-war issue that I found is from May 16, 1907.  In browsing through the issue I found that there are references to political topics such as problems with the Irish and liberals and adult suffrage.  The section that I found a reference to the French in was not in the content produced by the magazine, but in the Correspondence section.  This is like a "Letter to the Editor" section of a paper and it gives readers an opportunity to express their views.  It may refer to what "The New Age" included in an issue; negative or positive.

The letter that I read through was called "Imperial Federation," and it was signed by M.D. Eder on page 47.  The author brings up the idea that Imperial Federation is a stage towards International Federation.  The writer questions whether this would cause a barrier that joins already existant ones.  The letter specifically states, "Why seek to gather the Canadians to ourselves sooner than the French, the Australian before the German ? (Eder, 47).  This implies that there is no rush to implement anything before other powerful countries of this time have, including France.  One of the reasons that he mentions that would make it ideal is that there is common language and literature, and that acts as a sufficient reason.  I take this to mean that because the British speak the same language as the colonists means that they should attempt to gain control.

The author goes on to give examples of why just a communiry spirit would not be a good enough reason enough on its own.  He says, "When a Frenchman is as keen as myself about the discoveries of Pastor Gregor Mendel, I have found a friend" (Eder, 47).  This implies that the general similarity in interest would make action more understandable.  It also mentions what would consist of a friendship with the French. 

The overall British-French relationship that I gathered through using context clues in this letter to "The New Age," is that British readers are looking towards the Fench actions in determining what their country should do itself.  This can be seen in the way that the writer wrote that if the French haven't done it yet, why should they?  There was also a small anecdote included that showed how a friendship with a Frenchman could be formed and how that relates to the topic of Imperial Federation.

Link: http://dl.lib.brown.edu/pdfs/1140813681758511.pdf

 So as I think someone might have said before me, I really had no idea how to approach finding content for this blog post. It seems a bit too over-arching to make statements about pre-war French-British relations from one piece. I did, however, find an interesting piece in The New Age from an English-American author Francis Grierson. He wrote an essay on two historical figures from the French Revolution. I'm not entirely clear as to the timing or reason for the piece (placed in a British journal in 1909, about French revolutionists of the late 18th century, from an American author). It was unique, however, that I found both the style of the piece as well as the "intent" of it interesting. 

The first thing that struck me about the essay was the way it was written--in a fictional, "epic" tone that glorified two specific characters rather than their environment. There was a tone of fate and extreme levels of drama in it. Marat and Robespierre are portrayed as heroes of sorts. Oddly enough, the characters are glorified whereas the situation doesn't seem to be. I'm not sure of its significance, but I considered the need for revolution against the monarchy to not be elevated in a journal of a monarchist society. 

In approaching this assignment, I decided to concentrate on Anglo-American writers and their criticism of current modernist literature.  In my search, I was drawn to T.S. Eliot's "The Lesson of Baudelaire" from the first issue of The Tyro.  Immediately, my eyes alighted on the phrase, "Dadaism is a diagnosis of a disease of the French mind" (Eliot, The Tyro Vol 1, p. 3).  When I began reading the whole article, I expected a full denouncement of the dadaist movement, primarily because of his use of the word "disease" to describe it.  Also, I expected him to maintain that the movement has no bearing on English literature at all.  While proven wrong in my first assumption, the second was somewhat qualified by the rest of the article.  Eliot believes that dadaism cannot be directly applied to London.  However, what I wasn't expecting was Eliot's claim that French readers and writers are not only better read in French literature than English readers and writers, but better read in literature in general.  And, additionally, he notes that English writers are too conscious of themselves to seriously consider any other type of literature, a notion with which he seems to disagree, given the nature of the article.  I can only assume that he considers himself an exception to the rule (unless he places himself in a different category, since he's technically American?).

As someone who emulated Baudelaire in his own poetry, Eliot compares both modernist French Literature and English Literature as a whole to the author's work.  While he seems to believe that dadaism is a part of modernism that does not apply to English literature, he does believe it should evaluated.  However, his evaluation is qualified, contingent on whether or not it can be viewed as a "moral criticism" of French life.  He then presents what he calls "The lesson of Baudelaire," which, briefly stated, is the idea that poetry should address moral issues and wrestle with the implications of good and evil.  This, he appears to believe, is something that French authors have attempted to do for centuries, and which Baudelaire perfected.   

At the end of his article, he adds a phrase in french, "Vous, hypocrite lecteur..."  I surmised that this was probably calling the reader a hypocrite, perhaps because he anticipated an English reader or poet might believe he is being unfairly criticised.