The title of the present study refers to the fact that Apollinaire consistently worked at the cutting edge of modern aesthetics. The volume seeks to rehabilitate four experimental genres in particular that have received relatively little attention. The first chapter examines a charming artist’s book entitled The Bestiary, which features illustrations by Raoul Dufy. The second is concerned with a group of poems that celebrate ordinary, everyday life. The next chapter considers Apollinaire’s little-known debt to children’s rhymes. The final chapter discusses an avant-garde drama that was destined to play a key role in the evolution of modern French theater. This book will be of interest to anyone interested in avant-garde aesthetics. It will appeal not only to scholars of twentieth-century poetry but also to devotees of modern art and modern theater.

The title of the present study refers to the fact that Apollinaire consistently worked at the cutting edge of modern aesthetics. The volume seeks to rehabilitate four experimental genres in particular that have received relatively little attention. The first chapter examines a charming artist’s book entitled The Bestiary, which features illustrations by Raoul Dufy. The second is concerned with a group of poems that celebrate ordinary, everyday life. The next chapter considers Apollinaire’s little-known debt to children’s rhymes. The final chapter discusses an avant-garde drama that was destined to play a key role in the evolution of modern French theater. This book will be of interest to anyone interested in avant-garde aesthetics. It will appeal not only to scholars of twentieth-century poetry but also to devotees of modern art and modern theater.