Emotions are collective and cultural phenomena defined by well-defined systems of representation. It is extremely difficult to feel or identify an emotion outside these systems (which are sometimes at odds with one another). Poetry is no exception to this rule. Emotion in poetry is, for the most part, nothing more than the expected staging of these linguistic elements, rather like the way contestants on The Voice superimpose facial expressions onto their vocal performance that they believe correspond to the ‘correct’ interpretation of a song. [...] Read more of Hugo Pernet's text in the exhibition catalogue

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