David-Baptiste Chirot

David-Baptiste Chirot (David Lawrence Harris) (1953-2021) was an interdisciplinary, multimedia American artist. His artwork included mail art, collage, visual poetry, asemic poetry, performance poetry, and poetic essays.[1]

Biography

Chirot was raised in Vermont.[2] He attended Dartmouth University for his undergraduate studies where he majored in English and French.[1] In the late 1980’s, he moved to Milwaukee to pursue a PhD in Modern Studies in the Center for Twentieth-Century Studies at the University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee.[1] He completed the MA in Modern Studies, but never completed the PhD. He lived and worked in Riverwest, Milwaukee, for the rest of his life. His brother, Paul Harris, is also an artist and currently a professor of English at Loyola Marymount University. [3] Throughout his life, Chirot struggled with depression, addiction, and poverty. [4] He passed away in 2021.[1]

Works

Chirot’s artwork spans across physical and digital media. His mail art appears to be lost to time, though much of his digital work is preserved at the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine. His digital work primarily appeared on the web on fluxus-related websites, and mail art forums.

Jerome Rothenberg, an American poet, said of Chirot’s work,

“The depth and breadth of his total oeuvre — the rubbings and collages foremost — is outstanding.” [5] “Himself on the cusp between “outside” & “inside” poetry & art, Chirot, whose work, both verbal & visual, is a great too often hidden resource, writes from an authoritative if  barely visible position in contemporary letters.” [6]

Selected published works

  • Rebelle [7]
  • City of crust [8]
  • Eye [9]
  • Reverbations [10]
  • Oranges Hung [11]
  • After Rimbaud's Illuminations [12]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Chirot, Dave Baptiste, et al. Poet on the Right Side of History : In Memoriam David-Baptiste Chirot. Edited by Tom Hibbard et al., Luna Bisonte Prods, 2005.
  2. ^ SCHUMACHER, MARY LOUISE. "That thrown-out junk is right up his alley." Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (WI), All ed., sec. E Cue, 22 Aug. 2003, p. 22. NewsBank: Access World News – Historical and Current, https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=WORLDNEWS&req_dat=1095080F353DC265&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews/0FD19635E9A70346. Accessed 6 Feb. 2026.
  3. ^ University, Loyola Marymount. "Faculty - Loyola Marymount University". bellarmine.lmu.edu. Retrieved 2026-02-20.
  4. ^ "Remembering David Baptiste Chirot, Milwaukee's Poète Maudit – Boog City". 2021-07-26. Retrieved 2026-02-20.
  5. ^ "David-Baptiste Chirot | Jacket2". jacket2.org. Retrieved 2026-02-20.
  6. ^ "David-Baptiste Chirot: Félix Fénéon, conceptual poetry, & the animated other (redux) | Jacket2". jacket2.org. Retrieved 2026-02-20.
  7. ^ Chirot, Dave Baptiste, and Tom Hibbard. Rebelle. Edited by Luce Fierens, Redfoxpress, 2021.
  8. ^ Chirot, Dave Baptiste, and John M. Bennett. City of Crust. Luna Bisonte Prods, 2005.
  9. ^ Chirot, Dave Baptiste, and Andrew Topel. Eye. Avantacular Press, 2008.
  10. ^ Chirot, Dave Baptiste. Reverberations. Eight-Page Press, 2006.
  11. ^ Barber, Stephanie, et al. Oranges Hung. [Bronze Skull Press], 2001.
  12. ^ Chirot, Dave Baptiste. After Rimbaud’s Illuminations. Tir Aux Pigeons, 2008.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.