Twentieth-Century French Poetry: A Critical Anthology

Cambridge University Press, 5/20/2010
EAN 9780521886420, ISBN10: 0521886422

Hardcover, 400 pages, 23.5 x 15.5 x 2 cm
Language: English

Modern French poetry is unique in the boldness and creativity of its experiments in form and genre, from classical verse to vers libre, from calligrammes to prose poems and poésie sonore. This anthology includes 32 poems by French and francophone poets, each followed by an accessibly written, detailed commentary. The different approaches adopted in the close readings by specialists in their field reflect the major trends in current literary criticism and theory. A foreword by one of France's foremost poets, Yves Bonnefoy, a general introduction, and an afterword provide a helpful theoretical framework for the study of modern poetry. An extensive bibliography, concise biographies of the poets, and a glossary of literary terms are included. Students of French and of comparative literature will gain a deeper understanding of the development of French verse and of the artistic movements (especially in the visual arts) which have shaped twentieth-century French poetry.

Foreword
'Ending the mission, inaugurating the pact' Yves Bonnefoy
Preface
Acknowledgments
General introduction Hugues Azérad
Part I. Traditions and Modernisms
1. Paul Valéry, 'Le Cantique des colonnes' (1922) Peter Collier
2. Victor Segalen, 'Aux dix mille années' (1912) Charles Forsdick
3. Guillaume Apollinaire, 'Lettre-Océan' (1916) Timothy Mathews
4. Marie Noël, 'Attente' (1920) Alison Finch
5. Blaise Cendrars, 'Me too buggy' (1919) Clive Scott
6. Saint-John Perse, 'Écrits sur la porte' (1911) Mary Gallagher
7. Léopold Sédar Senghor, 'À New York' (1956) Roger Little
Part II. Avant-Gardes
8. Pierre Reverdy, 'L'Esprit du dehors' (1915), 'L'Esprit dehors' (1960) Stephen Romer
9. Paul Éluard, 'La courbe de ton coeur…' (1926) Richard Stamelman
10. André Breton, 'Vigilance' (1932) Elza Adamowicz
11. Aragon, 'Elsa je t'aime' (1941) Tom Conley
12. Henri Michaux, 'Iniji' (1973) Margaret Rigaud-Drayton
13. Aimé Césaire, Cahier d'un retour au pays natal (1939) Jean Khalfa
14. Francis Ponge, 'Le Volet suivi de sa scholie' (1946) Philippe Met
Part III. Poetics of Presence
15. René Char, 'Gravité' (1938) Roger Cardinal
16. Yves Bonnefoy, 'Rue traversière' (1987) Victoria Best
17. André du Bouchet, 'Accidents' (1961) Emma Wagstaff
18. Jacques Dupin, 'Commencer' (1969) Mary Ann Caws
19. Philippe Jaccottet, 'L'ignorant' (1958) Jean-Michel Maulpoix
20. Édouard Glissant, 'Pour Mycéa' (1985) Jean-Pascal Pouzet
Part IV. New Voices, New Visions
21. Michel Deguy, 'Le Métronome' (1993) Béatrice Bonhomme
22. Bernard Heidsieck, 'Poème-partition B2B3' (1965) Jean-Pierre Bobillot
23. Jacques Réda, 'L'Incorrigible' (1995) Susan Harrow
24. Bernard Noël, 'États de l'air' (1983) Andrew Rothwell
25. Jacques Roubaud, 'Dès que je me lève' (1986) Meryl Tyers
26. Marie-Claire Bancquart, 'Essentiel' (1986) Shirley Jordan
27. Nguyên Hoàng Bào Viêt, 'Anne Frank' (1980) Thanh-Vân Ton-That
28. Claude Esteban, 'Ils sont riches…' (1999) Robert W. Greene
29. Gérard Titus-Carmel, 'Or battant...' (2006) Michael Bishop
30. Jean-Michel Maulpoix, 'Bleu ne fait pas de bruit' (1992) Laure Helms
31. Amina Saïd, 'Trois continents dérivent' (1988) Rosemary Lloyd
32. Pierre Alferi, 'Une défense de la poésie' (1997) Michael Sheringham
Afterword
reading twentieth-century French verse Clive Scott
Biographies of the poets
Glossary
Select bibliography
Index.

'If the poet, in the words of Edouard Glissant, is a 'visionnaire du concret', this volume of close readings explores poetry as utterance situated between dream and reality without ascribing a mission to the poet or attempting to unearth hidden subtexts. These marvellously read poems follow the major currents of twentieth century French and Francophone literature and go a long way to fulfilling the editors' desires to forge a new alliance between readers and poets.' J. Michael Dash, New York University