'The movie theatres are little bits of things': Poetry and Cinema in Montale and Stevens.

This article examines the ambivalent relationship between Modernist poetry and cinema, focusing on the works and reflections of Eugenio Montale and Wallace Stevens. It highlights how both poets, despite skepticism toward cinema and mass culture, incorporated cinematic elements into their poetry to explore the tension between collective, mass experiences and solitary, controlled artistic engagement. Montale viewed cinema as a medium shaped by industrial and political forces that threatened poetic elitism and authenticity, while Stevens emphasized the active role of the reader-spectator in interpreting complex poetic texts, drawing analogies between reading and watching film. The article situates these poets’ responses within broader early twentieth-century debates on cinema’s cultural impact, arguing that Modernist poetry’s interaction with mass media was more complex and nuanced than often assumed.