Essay - Literature, Blaise Cendrars Blaise Cendrars: Modern Travel as a Theme...

Literature, Blaise Cendrars

***** Cendrars: Modern Travel as a Theme in His Life and Work

***** Cendrars, born Frederic Sauser, w***** one of the first writers to interpret modern travel through poetry. In his poems "Trans-Siberian Prose and Little Jeanne from France" and "Easter in New York," Cendrars illustrates a thoughtful human reaction to rapid *****, modernity, and ***** ***** experience within these new areas. Each of the two poems interprets changes from "old" to modern ways, both with excitement ***** agony. Where "***** Prose and Little Jeanne from *****" explores the conflicting ***** intense human experience involved in fast transit, "***** in New York" focuses more on ***** rise of modern inventi*****, specifically relating the loss of old tradition and faith in ***** times. ***** personal experiences are intertwined with ***** conflict inherent in modern travel experienced by ***** traveling companions and all other travelers.

While the first of the ***** may appear to be a glorified travelogue of the author's possibly fictional trip across Asia, it still stands to represent the modern ***** in the late 1800s and early 1900s. "Easter in ***** York," conversely, might ***** cr*****icized as mocking Christians or Christian religion, though it is intended to illustrate the changes in modern ***** through a discourse ***** change in trad*****ion and Christian ideals. Cendrars, in accordance with the theories of Foucoult, successfully fulfills the role of author by producing ********** two poems; he not only creates art that is a mirror of the modern changes in travel and the world, but he also becomes an object of the ***** world that he *****s.

***** Cendrars was ***** Frederic Louis ***** in Switzerl***** in 1887 (Rampton 142; Houston 562). Though he was *****r known to travel extensively as an adult, Cendrers also traveled a great deal with his family w*****n he was a boy. This early travel had a large impact on his life as he continued ***** ***** extensively. Addition*****y, he worked for a w*****tchmaker whose travels led Cendrars to stay in St. Petersburg *****d Moscow for long periods of time (Rampton 142). It w***** here that Cendrars got to see ***** beg*****nings of the Russian Revolution, something that is implicated in ***** poem "Trans-Siberian Prose and Little Jeanne from France." In h***** later life he spent time in many countries, including America w*****re he changed his name (Ramp*****n 142). However, his poetry was written over only about one decade, with 1912-1914 being the height of ***** creativity. After that, he moved on to experiment with o*****r forms ***** art (Ramp*****n 142).

Easter in New *****" and "Trans-Siberian ***** and ***** Jeanne from France" are two of Cendrars's best-know poems (Houston 562). The poem "Easter ***** New York" ***** initially titled simply "Easter" (Les Paque in French). However, the title "Easter ***** New *****" was given to it in 1919 in the collection Du monde entire (Of ***** Whole World) (Rampton *****).

Both "Easter in New York" and "Trans-Siberian Prose ***** Little ***** from France" are