Dr. Vakrilen Kilyovski (University of Veliko Turnovo, Bulgaria): "The 'iness' of 'not numerable whom': The Poetry & Paintings of E. E. Cummings"

Thursday, 18.05.2017, 18:15-19:45 Uhr, U2/02.04

Rushworth Kidder claimed that "[p]oetry and visual art grew, in Cummings' mind from one root; and while their outermost branches are distinct enough, there are many places closer to the trunk where it is hard to know which impulse accounts for a piece of work" (E. E. Cummings: An Introduction to the Poetry, 3). The above quote implies that the key to understanding E. E. Cummings' art and his distinctive contribution to the aesthetics of the Modern lies in his own awareness of the duality of his artistic self as "poetandpainter". In this talk we will discuss first Cummings - the painter, then Cummings - the poet. Finally we will focus on his "poempictures", or the "many places closer to the trunk".

Vakrilen Kilyovski (PhD,UVT) is an Assistant Professor at the Department of English and American Studies, University of Veliko Turnovo, Bulgaria. He teaches American literature and culture. His interests are in the areas of American Modernism and European Avant-Garde.