French Visual Poetry

This guide is a non-comprehensive introduction to the world of French visual poetry. Illustrated volumes of poetry, artists' books and books about art, as well as critical responses to poetry, all make up part of this wide-ranging subject and each offer their own perspective on the relationship between text and image. 

Each page includes a short summary as well as a list of several relevant books from the Booth Family Center for Special Collections. Each book was chosen for its capacity to represent the subject matter through content, form, or historical significance, and together, each mini-collection provides an introductory sample of the subtopic and what it might encompass. Hyperlinks to other useful information, like artistic techniques or literary movements, are included along the way. 

The guide is intended as a starting point for anyone interested in French-language literature and visual culture, and there are endless possibilities to go deeper in any direction. In addition to using the books listed here, researchers are encouraged to browse Special Collections and make use of Georgetown’s many other resources to find the materials most helpful to them.  

The books represented in this guide can all be found at the Booth Family Center for Special Collections, on the fifth floor of Georgetown’s Lauinger Library. Researchers are required to create an online Aeon account in order to request access to materials from the collections or to request reproductions of materials. Once your account is created, you can submit a request directly through your Aeon account.

Appointments made through this system require at least two days notice. The Booth Family Center is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Reference inquiries may be made in person, by telephone (202-687-7631) or via our email form. Special Collections staff are happy to discuss research projects and to direct researchers to available resources.