Colloque "John Ashbery in Paris"

John Ashbery (born in 1927) is an outstanding American poet whose immense oeuvre represents more than 50 years of prolific writing in all genres: poetry of course, but also fiction, theater plays, literary essays, art criticism, translation. In addition, he is a graphic artist yet to be discovered. A major figure in the New York art scene from the 1950s on, Ashbery lived in Paris for 10 years between 1956 and 1965, thus confirming his position as a key participant in the transatlantic network of artists working at the cutting edge of literary creation. The fact that his poetry is anthologized both in mainstream and more marginal collections shows the rare capacity it has to transcend the great divide separating “canonical” writers from radical experimentalists.

This international conference will provide a critical overview of Ashbery's work in as many dimensions and from as many angles as possible.