The Changing Forms of Discourse

This essay examines how the contemporary poet Michel Deguy (1930- 2022) engages with multiple media. Whether he collaborates with painters, filmmakers, or comments on political events, his discourse changes with the object of his attention. Deguy is exemplary in his choice of multiple subjects which inspire his poems and essays. His consistent effort to create a dialogue in which he considers the discourse of those whose work inspires him to respond is exemplary as the wide-range of the topics he addresses and the comparative perspective he adopts. Poetry and poetics are pertinent to chronicling the events and debates of the contemporary era.