The Poetry and Poetics of Nestor Perlongher

Ben Bollig

"The Argentine Nestor Perlongher was a groundbreaking poet and anthropologist whose work takes on the most dynamic and conflictive themes of modern-day Latin America. His poetry addresses issues of dictatorship, national identity, exile, transvestism and marginal sexualities, and modern-day esoteric religions while his anthropological work challenged the very limits of the human being and attacked the most entrenched of contemporary taboos." "Nestor Perlongher: The Poetic Search for an Argentine Marginal Voice is a vital addition to our understanding of the difficult work of this poet, for two reasons. First, Perlongher was a pioneer in a number of fields: sexual rights, urban anthropology, the philosophy of Deleuze and Guattari, esoteric religions and, crucially, modern Plate River poetry. This work is the first in English to comprehensively address this provocative and innovative oeuvre. Secondly, Perlongher's difficult, highly allusive and linguistically challenging poetry creates problems of reading and interpretation for any researcher. Ben Bollig draws on a wealth of historical, cultural and social research about contemporary Argentina, providing a rich background against which to assess Perlongher's work. The detailed close readings of the poems themselves offer ways into Perlongher's work and methodological tools for the study of difficult poetry."--Jacket.