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Openwork: Poetry and Prose
A career retrospective of poetry and prose works by one of the under-recognized giants of French literature
André du Bouchet, a great innovator of twentieth-century letters, has yet to be fully recognized by a wide circle of international readers. This inviting volume sets out to remedy the oversight, introducing a selection of du Bouchet’s poetry and prose to English-language readers through the brilliant translations of Paul Auster and Hoyt Rogers. Openwork showcases pieces from the author’s entire trajectory, beginning with little-known pieces from the 1950s, followed by major poems from the 1960s, and concluding with works written or rewritten in the poet’s later decades.
Throughout his life, du Bouchet devoted himself to long walks in his beloved French countryside, jotting down entries in notebooks as he rambled. These notebooks—more than one hundred all together—have emerged as signal works in their own right, and their musings are well represented in this anthology.
André du Bouchet, a great innovator of twentieth-century letters, has yet to be fully recognized by a wide circle of international readers. This inviting volume sets out to remedy the oversight, introducing a selection of du Bouchet’s poetry and prose to English-language readers through the brilliant translations of Paul Auster and Hoyt Rogers. Openwork showcases pieces from the author’s entire trajectory, beginning with little-known pieces from the 1950s, followed by major poems from the 1960s, and concluding with works written or rewritten in the poet’s later decades.
Throughout his life, du Bouchet devoted himself to long walks in his beloved French countryside, jotting down entries in notebooks as he rambled. These notebooks—more than one hundred all together—have emerged as signal works in their own right, and their musings are well represented in this anthology.
- GenresPoetryFrench Literature
368 pages, Hardcover
First published August 26, 2014
2 people are currently reading
84 people want to read
About the author
André du Bouchet
66 books13 followersAndré du Bouchet (April 7, 1924 – April 19, 2001) was a French poet.
Born in Paris, André du Bouchet lived in France until 1941 when his family left occupied Europe for the United States. He studied comparative literature first at Amherst College and then at Harvard University. After teaching for a year, he returned to France. Here Du Bouchet became friends with the poets Pierre Reverdy, René Char, and Francis Ponge, and with the painters Pierre Tal-Coat and Alberto Giacometti.
Du Bouchet was one of the precursors of what would come to be called "poésie blanche" or "white poetry." In 1956, he published a collection of poems entitled Le Moteur blanc or "The White Motor". In 1966, he, along with (among others) Yves Bonnefoy, Jacques Dupin, Louis-René des Forêts and Gaëtan Picon, founded the poetry revue L'Ephémère. Twenty issues were published from 1966 to 1973.
In 1961, Du Bouchet's first major poetry collection, Dans la chaleur vacante, was published to critical acclaim and he won the Prix de la critique (the Critic's Prize) for that year.
He also wrote art criticism, most notably about the works of Nicolas Poussin, Hercules Seghers, Tal-Coat, Bram van Velde and Giacometti, and translated works by Paul Celan, Hölderlin, Osip Mandelstam, Boris Pasternak, Laura Riding, William Faulkner, Shakespeare and James Joyce.
In 1983 he won the National Poetry Prize or "Prix national de la poésie".
André du Bouchet died in 2001 at the age of 76, in Truinas, Drôme department of France.
...
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3...]
Born in Paris, André du Bouchet lived in France until 1941 when his family left occupied Europe for the United States. He studied comparative literature first at Amherst College and then at Harvard University. After teaching for a year, he returned to France. Here Du Bouchet became friends with the poets Pierre Reverdy, René Char, and Francis Ponge, and with the painters Pierre Tal-Coat and Alberto Giacometti.
Du Bouchet was one of the precursors of what would come to be called "poésie blanche" or "white poetry." In 1956, he published a collection of poems entitled Le Moteur blanc or "The White Motor". In 1966, he, along with (among others) Yves Bonnefoy, Jacques Dupin, Louis-René des Forêts and Gaëtan Picon, founded the poetry revue L'Ephémère. Twenty issues were published from 1966 to 1973.
In 1961, Du Bouchet's first major poetry collection, Dans la chaleur vacante, was published to critical acclaim and he won the Prix de la critique (the Critic's Prize) for that year.
He also wrote art criticism, most notably about the works of Nicolas Poussin, Hercules Seghers, Tal-Coat, Bram van Velde and Giacometti, and translated works by Paul Celan, Hölderlin, Osip Mandelstam, Boris Pasternak, Laura Riding, William Faulkner, Shakespeare and James Joyce.
In 1983 he won the National Poetry Prize or "Prix national de la poésie".
André du Bouchet died in 2001 at the age of 76, in Truinas, Drôme department of France.
...
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3...]
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 19, 2018
No matter what you think of his fiction, Paul Auster has done some good in the world by translating French poetry, and this volume is a great example of that. Hoyt Rogers, who translated the early and late Bouchet for this book, did good editorial work; his selections show Bouchet's work developing, without ever losing its spareness and opacity, nor its intelligence. As Auster himself says, Bouchet avoids the grandiosity that sometimes ruins French poetry for anglos like myself; it's no surprise at all that he was a translator of Celan.
I can't say if Auster and Rogers are right in their claims that Bouchet has had a huge influence on French poetry; I can say this is volume is well worth a look, particularly if you have a bit of French yourself, and enjoy restraint.
I can't say if Auster and Rogers are right in their claims that Bouchet has had a huge influence on French poetry; I can say this is volume is well worth a look, particularly if you have a bit of French yourself, and enjoy restraint.
July 17, 2019
A lovely book with imagery that moved me. I could have done with a little less nature content, but it was wonderful none the less.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews