CONCEPTUAL INTEGRATIONS IN LA PROSE DU TRANSSIBÉRIEN ET DE LA PETITE JEANNE DE FRANCE BY BLAISE CENDRARS

Abstract

In this paper, I discuss La Prose du Transsibérien et de la petite Jeanne de France by Blaise Cendrars, a narrative poem first published in French in Paris in 1913. The poem has raised seemingly intractable questions for many years, given its status as one of the most important modernist poems, and one of the most important poems in 20th century French poetry. As I argue, considering some of the issues from the perspective of cognitive stylistics, especially the theory of conceptual integration, may help explain how readers make sense of this complicated poem.