Looking at the Content of Blast

             One of the suggestions that Scholes and Wulfman make when looking at a journal like Blast, is to look specifically at what kind of contents are in the journal. The first edition of Blast has 23 drawings, prints or other illustrations. It also includes a handful of poems by Ezra Pound, 2 short stories, 1 play and 1 book review. Then the bulk of the other pages with words on them, I am not even sure how to categorize. Those other pages contain a lot of short fragments of opinions and beliefs. The only advertisements in the journal are the advertisements at the end for the publisher, and the books that are new from that company. Even though there are far more pages with words on them, I think the focus of this journal is the art. I say this in part because there is so much of it, and in part because the book review is a book by Kandinsky who was a contemporary artist. And on many of the uncategorized typed pages, the words themselves are arranged artistically and talk about art, art forms, what the vorticists believe and/or are criticisms of other art forms. Wyndham Lewis is presenting his movement and the majority of the journal is examples (in one way or another) of what he is calling Vorticism.

               The journal changes from the first edition to the second edition. In the second edition there are only 17 drawings, prints or other illustrations, and where there were only a few categorized works in the first edition there are significantly more in the second edition. The second edition is only half as many total pages and there are a lot more poems – 15 I think.  The randomness of Wyndham Lewis also seems to be categorized into short essays a little bit more organized and a little less artsy in look than the first edition. While there is still a huge emphasis on art, as well as a review of contemporary art, by the second edition the journal definitely addresses the war. The writers make comments about war, the drawings and prints have war themes. It is clear that the war is a big part of everyone’s life. However, I still think that the journal’s main interest is art and its audience intellectual, artistic people.