'Pataphysics: the Poetics of an Imaginary Science
- List Price: $59.95
- Binding: Hardcover
- Publisher: Northwestern University Press
- Publish date: 04/01/2002
Bok examines the work of Jarry, arguing that it represents a humorous addendum to the philosophy of Nietzsche, while also considering the influence of 'pataphysics upon the poetic legacy of the twentieth century, particularly the work of Italian Futurists, French Oulipians, and Canadian Jarryites. Bok resorts to the radical poetics of such contemporary philosophers as Deleuze, Derrida, Baudrillard, and Serres in order to explicate the 'pataphysical relationship between rationalism and its discontents.
Bok draws on a wide range of reading in poetry and theory to establish a firm historical ground for understanding the influence of 'pataphysics -- all the while making a variety of seemingly difficult or obscure material accessible in a surprisingly charming and poetic manner.
A long overdue critical look at a significant strain of the twentieth-century avant-garde, his book raises important historical, cultural, and theoretical issues germane to the production and reception of poetry, how we think about it, how we read it, how we read it, and what sorts of claims it makes upon our understanding.