Affirmation without end: Some syntactical similarities between the poetry of Yves Bonnefoy and the philosophy of Jean-Luc Nancy

Since he came to prominence with the publication of Du mouvementet de l’immobilité de Douve in 1953, Yves Bonnefoy has always been quick to affirm the value and the function of poetry. Whether writing about his own work or the work of others, whether writing essays, poetry or prose, he reminds us that poetry’s function is affirmative. Poetry is presented as an ontological act, an affirmation of the sense of existence, and a quest to affirm the physical and embodied reality of “la présence” within language