Philosophers Discuss Stéphane Mallarmé’s Poetry

Hi Everyone, welcome to the next meetups that Jen and Philip will be presenting.

For medical reasons I (Philip) have had to pick a slightly lighter topic this time around. It may be a while before I can once again to justice to the heavy philosophers (ie., Kant and Hegel). So this time we will be reading these two books:

• Stéphane Mallarmé: Collected Poems and Other Verse (With Parallel French Text)
  translated by E.H. and A.M. Blackmore (Oxford World's Classics)

and

• Stéphane Mallarmé by Roger Pearson (2010). Please note that Roger Pearson has written many books about Mallarmé, so please be sure to get the one published by Reaktion Books in their series "Critical Lives".

👇 Scroll to the bottom for the reading schedule and materials. 👇

Mallarmé inspired many French thinkers including Derrida, Bataille and Maurice Blanchot. On days when I (Philip) am feeling up to it, we will explore these connections between Mallarme and the philosophers he inspired. The Pearson book will be very helpful in drawing out these connections.

On days when I am not feeling especially well, we will treat the meetup more like a poetry reading session and focus more on the literary aspects of the poems.

Once we have finished with the Pearson book (it is very short) we may read some short works (in translation) by French thinkers who wrote about Mallarme or were inspired by Mallarmé.

The format will be our usual "accelerated live read" format. What this means is that each participant will be expected to read roughly 15-20 pages from the Pearson book before each session. Each participant will have the option of picking a few paragraphs they especially want to focus on. We will then do a live read on the paragraphs that the participants found most interesting when they did the assigned reading. Philip will also select one or two poems for each session. These will be read out loud in both English and French. Jen and Philip will attempt to convey aspects of the original French that were lost in translation. But we will be discussing the poems in English.

People who have not done the reading are welcome to attend this meetup. However if you want to TALK during the meetup it is essential that you do the reading. We mean it! It is essential that the direction of the conversation be influenced only by people who have actually done the reading. You may think you are so brilliant and wonderful that you can come up with great points even if you do not do the reading. You probably are brilliant and wonderful - no argument there. But you still have to do the reading if you want to talk in this meetup. REALLY.

Please note that this is a "raise hands" meetup and has a highly structured format, not an anarchy-based one. This is partly for philosophical reasons: We want to discourage a simple-minded rapid fire "gotcha!" approach to philosophy. But our highly structured format is also for disability related reasons that Philip can explain if required.

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Here is the description from the back cover of the Pearson book:

This concise biography of Stéphane Mallarmé (1842–98) blends an account of the poet’s life with a detailed analysis of his evolving poetic theory and practice. “A poet on this earth must be uniquely a poet,” he declared at the age of twenty-two — but what is a poet’s life and what is a poet’s function? In his poems and prose statements and by the example of his life, Mallarmé provided answers to these questions.

In Stéphane Mallarmé, Roger Pearson explores the relationship among Mallarmé’s life, his philosophy, and his writing. To Mallarmé, being a poet consists of a continuous, lifelong investigation of language and its expressive potential. It represents, argues Pearson, a fundamental response to the metaphysical mystery of the human condition and the desire to make sense of it for others. A poet turns everyday banality into prospects of mystery; and a poet, in Mallarmé’s conception, is able to bring all human beings together in heightened awareness and understanding of the “magnificent act of living.”

This concise and engaging biography tells the story of a fascinating and utterly unique voice in French poetry, one that was often overshadowed by other Symbolist writers. It is an essential read for students of literature and nineteenth-century France.

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Here is the reading schedule:

• For the first session (March 22), please read the poems "Toast" and "Ill Fortune". Please read up to page 38 in the Roger Pearson book
• For the second session, please read the poems "Apparition" and "Futile Petition". Please read up to page 63 in Pearson.

After this, the readings will be posted.

A pdf copy of Stéphane Mallarmé: Collected Poems and Other Verse is here.

A pdf of the Pearson is here.