Starting
from movements such as Expressionism
and Cubism, which defined themselves
a posteriori , and passing
on to avant-gardes which gathered
a priori around a manifesto,
the twentieth century opens with a
will to confront and theorise which
favours the collective dimension.
Authors often abandon their individualism,
and even sacrifice their personal
expression while pursuing a common
cause.
In
line with the relation individualism/collectivism,
concepts such as nationalism and internationalism
become indissolubly intertwined when
one examines these literary and artistic
movements, tightly connected to the
historical period they want either
to demolish or upturn. The principle
of nationalism inspires the first
season of the avant-garde – Futurism
being its peak – and culminates in
the First World War which, under many
regards, affirms itself as the real
triumph of European nationalisms.
However, at the beginning of the 20s,
after the war, after the fall of what
Hobsbawm defines the Age of the Empire
and after the big strikes raging throughout
Europe, the nationalist spirit comes
to be replaced by a wave of internationalism,
or better, by two types of internationalisms:
Communism and right totalitarianism.
It will be because of this new international
spirit that Breton and Aragon will
approach the communist party with
Surrealism and that Marinetti will
veer towards Fascism.
While
the first issue of RiLUnE is entirely
devoted to the study of ideologies,
this third issue aims to frame the
outburst of avant-gardes under a double
perspective: on the one hand it intends
to define the aesthetic and philosophical
aspects of Avant-garde in Europe,
on the other it wishes to gather a
collection of articles on literary
avant-gardes, while concentrating
on the aspect of European cooperation
of different intellectuals, movements,
etc. In this latter case, the editorial
board will welcome essays on correspondence,
revues and literary works deeply rooted
in the European scene.
Tania
Collani
tr. Enrico Monti
