Objects Observed: The Poetry of Things in Twentieth-Century France and America

"The focus of Stout’s analysis of modern poetry and the object is on the lyrical dimensions to the various types of elucubration written on both sides of the Atlantic, and with good English translations from the French in parallel, Objects Observed examines how poets envision the object, not least the human (and specifically male) body."

Andrew Stafford, University of Leeds, H-France Review

"John C. Stout’s treatment of object poetry in French and American poetry is authoritative, balanced, and insightful. Objects Observed is a pleasure to read, and succeeds admirably in remaining engaging from start to finish. Stout is judicious in his discussions of the poets and their focus on objects. He chooses representative critical references to elucidate his assessment of each poet’s embrace of the poetic object, while masterfully linking ideas, illustrating them with appropriate, and expertly translated, excerpts."

Glenn Fetzer, Professor of French, Department of Languages and Linguistics, New Mexico State University

"Objects Observed will be of great interest to specialists in French or American poetry. A pleasure to read, John C. Stout wears his learning lightly, and there are few endnotes given the breadth of reference."

Emma Wagstaff, Lecturer in French Studies, Department of Modern Languages, University of Birmingham