French Love Poems

by Tynan Kogane (Editor)

Filled with devotion and lust, sensuality and eroticism, fevers and overtures, these poems showcase some of the most passionate verses in the French language. From the classic sixteenth-century love sonnets of Louise Labé and Maurice Sceve to the piercing lyricism of the Romantics and the dreamlike compositions of the Surrealists, French Love Poems is the perfect, seductive gift for anyone who makes your heart flutter.


This collection includes poems by Guillaume Apollinaire, Charles Baudelaire, Claude Cahun, René Char, Marceline Desbordes-Valmore, Paul Éluard, Louise Labé, Stéphane Mallarmé, Anna de Noailles, Joyce Mansour, Arthur Rimbaud, Paul Verlaine, and many others; as well as translations by Mary Ann Caws, Robert Duncan, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Denise Levertov, Ezra Pound, Kenneth Rexroth, Frederick Seidel, Richard Sieburth, and William Carlos Williams.

Genres: Poetry, France, Romance, French Literature

100 pages, Paperback

First published June 7, 2016

Reviews

[Hallie · Rating 4 out of 5]

My introduction to various French poets. I loved the dreamlike imagery. Reading it felt like I was floating.

“May it come, may it come, the time when love astounds us. I have kept so patient. That forever I forget. Fears and sufferings.” - Arthur Rimbaud

“The bleachers of my ribs contract at the idea. That your voice could fill my throat. That your eyes could smile.” -Joyce Mansour

[Jimmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Roses of Saadi
by Marceline Desbordes-Valmore
Translated by Louis Simpson

I wanted to bring you roses this morning.
There were so many I wanted to bring,
The knots at my waist could not hold so many.

The knots burst. All the roses took wing,
The air was filled with roses flying,
Carried by the wind, into the sea.

The waves are red, as though they are burning.
My dress still has the scent of the morning,
Remembering roses. Smell them on me.

[nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

All about love. Theresa heart of it. Perfectly translated with the French next to it. The feeling, the yearning. Full frontal desire. This collection feels like an ornate box of tinseled elephant to delight all that works when we think of love poems. The blankness of a thigh is more than blindness. Lips and eyes beyond sense. With our bodies, we project love by way of feeling so much, wanting so much, needing so much of another.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Breathtakingly Beautiful. I will treasure this little collection. *** Please note that I received this book for Free from Goodreads First-Reads.

[Albert Moreno · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some poems I’ll definitely come back to and reread, but didn’t feel inspired beside a good 4/5 poems. Not terrible though, plus it could just be me!

[Canem · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Shivering on my mute lips I felt
The sweetness and the fright of your first kiss."

This was a sweet little poetry collection including only old, French poems, as the title suggests. It was OK, but there were only a handful of poems that I enjoyed.

One page is always written in the French original, and one in the English translation.

I bought this in Paris when I was there for work. It's a cute little memory.

[marykaitlyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

My life has been the awaiting of you,
Your footfall was my own heart’s beat.
- Paul Valéry

[Libya Elarbi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well curated, a little tedious at times, overall not bad

[Storey_1311 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Literally the sweetest book ever written, every poem is written with care and delicacy

[Niamh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I mean disappointing because I thought I was gonna find a poem I really loved.

There was maybe two lines that acc resonated but the rest I didn’t really understand or didn’t think was good tbh

But I clearly just have no informed appreciation for poetry. I REALLY want to but I don’t know how to appreciate / read it lol. I will prevail.

[Alyssa King · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a copy of Barnes & Noble's love poetry (you know with the beautiful sandy brown cloth hard cover and gold lining) and I saw this next to the poetry section, each page has a translation if you don't speak french and has a collection of different poets such as Paul Verlaine and Kenneth Rexroth. One of my favorite lines within this cute little pocket size book was, "I love you and letting you go proves that even distance won't stop me from loving you." Valentines day is coming, hope this book is one your bookshelf.

[Autumn · Rating 3 out of 5]

As always when it comes to translated works, some of the choices made were a bit off. However, I really appreciated the dual printing with the original poem on the opposite end! Some very endearing poems, some a bit less so. Overall, worth a read, but not outstanding in presentation.

[Kyle Schnitzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and sweet, lovely. Wish there were more in the collection.

[Alex Richmond · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a fun, charming little collection of excellent poetry. Well curated.

[Kristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This deserves more a 3.5 star rating than a 3. Keeping in mind I only read the english translated side of this, i'm leaving the french for when I am WAAAY better.

[Hamish Danks Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Merci beaucoup Fiorella pour ces poemes d'amour. J'adore! Vous etes toujours la bienvenue. Salut!

[Holt Dwyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice little collection of romantic poetry from various periods, with facing English translations.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love that it has the poems in French and English!

[Georgia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked some of these poems; others didn't really speak to me.

[Stacy Charlesbois · Rating 4 out of 5]

So very sad, and so very French

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

C’est un très bon livre! Loved the different conceptualizations of love — very well put together compilation of poetry. Also helped me improve my emerging French abilities.

[Elliott James Fraser · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this after a session at Annie Muir's poetry workshop in Glasgow where we studied a Rilke poem and various translations of it to see how different people interpret and translate.
This was fascinating to me so the next book I found of translated poetry I purchased.
Fortunately for me when I was in Typewronger in Edinburgh I found this little beauty.
Now I don't speak any French, never have done and likely never will however we all know it's a sexy language on the ears. Like pure music.
So obviously I cannot give an opinion on the translations I can only read the English versions and enjoy them.
And boy do I.
This is one of my favourite books and because it is pocket sized I take this with me more than most books when travelling.
So to recap I love it but can't possibly comment on the translations sorry. I'm putting my trust in each of the translators.
As a poet this is a very inspirational collection and if there was a second volume I would buy it in a Battement de cœur.

[Elinor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this little book from the famous Shakespeare & Co bookshop in Paris as a souvenir of the trip I was taking with my partner. A really nice selection of moving poems about love, and I like that there is the French along with the English translation, as I am trying to improve my French and it's nice to try reading the poems in their original form (even if my understanding isn't always that good).

The poems span a broad range of time and styles, which makes it a good introductory book, although I perhaps would have preferred something a little more focussed in hindsight. A great souvenir of a wonderful trip! I think this would also make a nice gift.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautiful poetry collection.
I was at a cool bookstore one day and I wanted something I hadn’t seen before. This beautiful little book of poetry caught my eye.

I’m a fan of more traditional poems, as much as I enjoy poetry in general sometimes modern poems don’t appeal to me.

This is a short book of love poems written in both French and English.

It’s less than a hundred pages. So it’s a quick read, but I enjoy spreading poetry out over a few days to enjoy it more.

Really pretty and a nice variety of poems.

This would make a beautiful gift too, or even a learning guide for someone taking French.

[holland · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s an assortment of poets, so I liked some a lot better than others. I think the last one by Robert Desnos is my favorite, and it’s definitely more beautiful in French than English:

“J’ai tant rêvé de toi, tant marché, parlé, couché avec ton fantôme qu’il ne me reste plus peut-être…”

[Avedon Arcadio · Rating 3 out of 5]

While mostly from the 19th century I had hoped there would have been a few more modern ones. Still there are some bangers in here while others are very much a product of their time in terms of prose which is pretty dope to see.

[Abbey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this tiny little gem over and over, continually annotating and finding new meanings in the poems. What I really like about this book is how small and compact it is. It just feels personal to hold in your hands, and the poems are lovely. Will continue to reread many times more.

[Ketevan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short collection of translated French poetry, English and French versions side by side. I didn't love some of the translations, they lean more towards imitating the spirit/artistry rather than the meaning. There also seemed to be no reasoning for the selection/ordering.

[Leane · Rating 3 out of 5]

c’est rigolo de lire verlaine en anglais.
Bon regroupement de poèmes mais c’est vraiment les plus connus de la poésie française (pas assez de femmes !!)

(lu en mai, j’etais en manque de poésie française

[Lucía Libremente · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice, It can be a good start to engage with French if you are learning the language. It's a booklet of traditional poets that lacks greater diversity. I encountered Claude Cahun's writings for the first time, and, from the full collection, in my eyes, they stand out!