How can genocide be witnessed through imaginative literature? How can the Holocaust affect readers who were not there? Reading the work of major figures such as Elie Wiesel, Paul Celan, Avrom Sutzkever, Ida Fink, Wladyslaw Szlengel, Itzhak Katzenelson, and Czeslaw Milosz, Poesis in Extremis poses fundamental questions about how prose and poetry are written under extreme conditions, either in real time or immediately after the Holocaust. Framed by discussion of literary testimony, with Wiesel's literary memoir Night as an entry point, this innovative study explores the blurred boundary of fact and fiction in Holocaust literature. It asks whether there is a poetics of the Holocaust and what might be the criteria for literary witnessing. Wartime writing in particular tests the limits of “poesis in extremis” when poets faced their own annihilation and wrote in the hope that their words, like a message in a bottle, would somehow reach readers. Through Poesis in Extremis, Daniel Feldman and Efraim Sicher probe the boundaries of Holocaust literature, as well as the limits of representation.

"This innovative study asks how genocide can be witnessed through imaginative literature and affect readers who were not there"--

Come, have no fear of anything, he says, I am he who will help you cross all the boundaries you carry within yourself. Approach, do not be afraid, I will allow you to reach destinations you have always dreamt of, those illicit Edens where serpents dine on the milk of virgins, charmed by tongues of light that illuminate the shadowy mouths of the latest prophets. In extremis is the story of a private, intimate war that the poet wages in the heart of besieged territories, where language shines its most beautiful light on the most sombre of inks. It is followed by Paintings of Ordinary Apocalypses, a series of poems where we are introduced to a variety of exotic characters. Sylvain Turner holds a master’s degree in literature from the Université de Québec à Montréal. A designer/copywriter, translator, literary chronicler and lyricist, he has been published in magazines such as Gaz Moutarde, Possibles and Exit, among others. “You’ve got to read In extremis for the power of its words, the emotions conveyed and, very simply, to discover the pen of Sylvain Turner.” Roxanne Pichette CQFL (Ce qu’il faut lire) “Highly incarnate. It almost feels like being at the movies.” Lynda Dion Libraire de force “The poet has written a very touching book. Some of the poems are quite simple. The effectiveness with which they communicate emotion is undeniable. (...) Turner’s return to poetry is a definite success. I couldn’t be more delighted.” Daniel Guénette Le blog de Dédé blanc-bec

In Extremis delves into the emotional moments humans inevitably encounter, such as love, loss, and existentialism. From funeral processions to early morning routines, Blevins expounds on the beauty to be found in the fleeting moments of joy, grief, and existence through his visceral images of remoteness and introversion. Leading readers through an ever-changing view on reality, Blevins baits a hook intended for the mind, and once bitten, is hard to let go.