SCRABrraaNNG! The Explosion of Futurist Poetry

Bowes Library’s Autumn 2024 exhibition, SCRABrrRrraaNNG! The Explosion of Futurist Poetry, explores the unique history of Italian Futurist poetry during its first period (1909-1918). Futurism, founded by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti in 1909, was a leading avant-garde movement in Europe that rejected history and tradition in the name of technology, dynamism, and violence. In 1912, Marinetti declared war on his Symbolist predecessors, inventing a new form of poetics that tested the limits of typography and aimed to shock readers with obliterated syntax, onomatopoeias, and word-images. On display are featured items from Bowes and Green Libraries' Special Collections, as well as the Futurist Archive's private collection, including Marinetti's seminal work of "words-in-freedom,"Zang Tumb Tuuum (1914), and several first editions by other Futurist poets. Curated by Ty Davidian, PhD Candidate in Italian. Sponsored by the Department of French and Italian and the Division of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages. 

Library hours: M-Th 9-7pm, Friday 9-5pm, Sunday 12-6pm. Opening reception Oct. 10, 4-6pm.