An Ocean of Purity — Reimagining Bachelard Through Poetry

Who was Gaston Bachelard — and why interpret him through poetry?

Gaston Bachelard (1884–1962) was a French philosopher celebrated for his work in poetics and the philosophy of science.Though not a poet himself, he profoundly shaped modern thinking about imagination, metaphor, and the symbolic power of the elements.

Frank Prem first encountered Bachelard via a passing comment suggesting the philosopher’s ideas were “made for poetry.” That spark led Prem to immerse himself in thirteen translated volumes of Bachelard’s writing on imagination and elemental metaphor. The result is Bachelard Interpreted — an eight-part poetic conversation that echoes and reimagines Bachelard’s elemental vision.

An Ocean of Purity is the fifth volume in this series, written by Australian poet and storyteller Frank Prem (Small Town Kid, Devil In The Wind, The New Asylum – a memoir of psychiatry).

Look Inside

curved edges

there are no edges
in a curve

no angled corners

place a fingertip
anywhere
and begin

trace
around a finger

trace
across the hand

the length
of an arm

trace
with a finger
the body

there are no edges
on your curve

always
the end
is at
the beginning

Dive into an interpretation of the Poetics of Water

An Ocean of Purity explores Bachelard’s poetic meditations is an exploration of the fluid, changes of form and structure, meeting points between liquid
and solid. It contemplates the nature of flow and of ebb, as well as the intersections between nature and nurture. It draws on the faith needed to entrust the future into the care of the present.

Prem immerses himself in the poetics of water, crafting free verse stories that reflect and inhabit Bachelard’s vision.

Join the journey with An Ocean of Purity — the fifth collection in the Bachelard Interpreted series.