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Second Simplicity: New Poetry and Prose, 1991-2011 (The Margellos World Republic of Letters)
An eagerly awaited anthology of recent poetry and prose by the celebrated French poet Yves Bonnefoy
Yves Bonnefoy, who will soon attain the age of ninety, has gratified his readers during the past two decades with the most prolific and innovative period of his splendid lifework. This volume presents in English and French an inviting array of his recent writings, carefully selected for their literary quality as well as their broad appeal. It features several works never published before and many that have never been translated into English. The first anthology of Bonnefoy's work to appear since 1995, this collection reflects the poet's powerful engagement with the New England landscape; its quiet woods and fields have helped to shape to the pared-down aesthetic of his recent years. The book is the first to showcase not only the poetry for which Bonnefoy is justly renowned but also his inventive compositions in prose. Appropriately, the book alternates more traditional verse with freer forms, just as the author has done in several major works of the past twenty years; that symbiotic approach is one of the hallmarks of this latter phase of his art. Superbly translated by Hoyt Rogers, the collection is organized chronologically, revealing clearly how the poet continues to extend and refine his scope and style. Rogers provides a masterly introduction in which he analyzes aspects of Bonnefoy's recent writings and the "second simplicity" that characterizes his late work.
Yves Bonnefoy, who will soon attain the age of ninety, has gratified his readers during the past two decades with the most prolific and innovative period of his splendid lifework. This volume presents in English and French an inviting array of his recent writings, carefully selected for their literary quality as well as their broad appeal. It features several works never published before and many that have never been translated into English. The first anthology of Bonnefoy's work to appear since 1995, this collection reflects the poet's powerful engagement with the New England landscape; its quiet woods and fields have helped to shape to the pared-down aesthetic of his recent years. The book is the first to showcase not only the poetry for which Bonnefoy is justly renowned but also his inventive compositions in prose. Appropriately, the book alternates more traditional verse with freer forms, just as the author has done in several major works of the past twenty years; that symbiotic approach is one of the hallmarks of this latter phase of his art. Superbly translated by Hoyt Rogers, the collection is organized chronologically, revealing clearly how the poet continues to extend and refine his scope and style. Rogers provides a masterly introduction in which he analyzes aspects of Bonnefoy's recent writings and the "second simplicity" that characterizes his late work.
290 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2013
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About the author
Yves Bonnefoy
295 books83 followersYves Bonnefoy (1923/6/24-2016/7/1) was a French poet and essayist. Bonnefoy was born in Tours, Indre-et-Loire, the son of a railroad worker and a teacher.
His works have been of great importance in post-war French literature, at the same time poetic and theoretical, examining the meaning of the spoken and written word. He also published a number of translations, most notably Shakespeare and published several works on art and art history, including Miró and Giacometti.
His works have been of great importance in post-war French literature, at the same time poetic and theoretical, examining the meaning of the spoken and written word. He also published a number of translations, most notably Shakespeare and published several works on art and art history, including Miró and Giacometti.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 30, 2022
I long to grant eternity
To this flake
That alights on my hand,
By making my life, my warmth,
My past, my present days
Into a moment: the boundless
Moment of now.
But already it's no more
Than a bit of water, lost in the fog
Of bodies moving through snow.
* * * *
No more paths for us, nothing but unscythed grass.
No more ford to cross, nothing but mud.
No more bed laid out, nothing but stones
And shadows embracing through us.
Still this night is bright,
As we desired our death might be.
It whitens the trees, they expand.
Their foliage: sand, then foam.
Day is breaking, even beyond time.
* * * *
Columns, arches, vaults: how he knew
The ways you promise but don't give;
And that your bodies, like your souls,
Always slip from our grasping hands.
Space is such a lure . . . Swift to disappoint,
As they raise and topple clouds, the sky's
Architects still offer more than ours,
Who only build a scaffolding of dreams.
July 10, 2019
Some truly excellent poems, with a few too many that aren't very good. The most recent work in prose was generally fascinating, but the verse was far too clearly the work of an old man: unnecessary formalism, memorials, little to say. So, the prose was solid throughout, and the earlier poetry was often astonishingly good.
My French isn't great, but it does seem that Rogers simplifies Bonnefoy's syntax *substantially*. If you know French better than I do, please tell me if I have this right, or not.
My French isn't great, but it does seem that Rogers simplifies Bonnefoy's syntax *substantially*. If you know French better than I do, please tell me if I have this right, or not.
April 12, 2015
I've been trying to teach myself French for a decade and so I'm constantly ferreting out parallel texts via inter-library loan. I've become acquainted with around a hundred new French poets during that time and I think Bonnefoy has become my favorite find. (In translation, alas, still struggling mightily through the French.)
July 20, 2012
Do I give too many books 4 stars? Maybe it's because I'm so picky about what I read. There are a number of long poems and prose pieces in this volume which don't do much for me--too abstracted--but a few of the longer works, and many of the short poems, the lyrics, are very fine indeed. For you who read French (I don't), this is a bilingual collection.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews