The Thief of Talant

by Pierre Reverdy, Ian Seed (Translator)

Challenged by his friend, poet and art critic Max Jacob, to write a novel, Pierre Reverdy produced this fragmented, beautiful assemblage of loneliness, paranoia and depersonalization drawn from his own experience of Paris in the early 20th century, the sometimes antagonistic atmosphere of the avant-garde and his own troubled relationship with Jacob, who tended to detect the threat of his literary treasures being plagiarized among everyone he knew. Toward the end of his life, Reverdy confirmed that the alienated, anxious -thief- of this novel in verse was a portrait of himself (-Talant- conveys both the dual echo in French of -talent- and the small town of Talan near Dijon, thereby evoking a potential plagiarizer from the countryside), and -Abel the Magus, - a semi-satirical portrait of Jacob.
Originally published in French in 1917, The Thief of Talant is a radical experiment in verse and narrative, a moving evocation of the loss (and recovery) of self and an encrypted guidebook to the -heroic- years of Cubism.
Pierre Reverdy (1889-1960) was a reclusive yet integral component of the early Parisian avant-garde and a friend to painters such as Modigliani, Picasso and Gris, who, with fellow poets such as Apollinaire and Jacob, came to represent a faction known as the -Cubist poets.- In 1926, Reverdy withdrew from Paris for a life of seclusion in the northwest of France.

Genres: Poetry, France, Fiction, Literature, French Literature

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1917

About the author

Pierre Reverdy (September 13, 1889 – June 17, 1960) was a French poet whose works were inspired by and subsequently proceeded to influence the provocative art movements of the day, Surrealism, Dadaism and Cubism. The loneliness and spiritual apprehension that ran through his poetry appealed to the Surrealist credo. He, though, remained independent of the prevailing “isms,” searching for something beyond their definitions. His writing matured into a mystical mission seeking, as he wrote: “the sublime simplicity of reality."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_R...

Reviews

[Tosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I first heard about this book "The Thief of Talent" by Pierre Reverdy, I was expecting an experimental novel. It's not. It's a book length prose poem that is incredibly moving and beautiful. The book came out in France in 1917, and was pretty much ignored till at least 1967. In 2016, Wakefield Press has done the first english translation by Ian Seed. It's a remarkable book about an artist/poet leaving their scene. A long goodbye note of sorts, but also a very poetic look of a world that passes him by - which happens to be Paris, 1917.

Reverdy, is without a doubt, one of the great poetic voices of the 20th century. This early work by him, exposes a certain amount of doubt in working in a world that is often hostile, or at the very least, suspicious of such activity. The great fellow poet/art critic Max Jacob encouraged Reverdy to write this book, but at the same time, one gather by this text that their relationship had sharp turns to the left and right, when it wanted to go straight ahead. According to Seed's introduction, the big turning point for Reverdy in writing this book was when Jacob hid his writings from Reverdy by closing a chest door in front of him. This very act, caused a certain amount of stress for Reverdy, even though it was common practice for artists and writers of that time, to hide their work from fellow artists, due to the fear of being plagiarized.

Maybe because it is due that Dylan just won the Nobel Prize for literature, but I couldn't help thinking about his work, while reading this book. Dylan is known for 'borrowing' text for his songs/writings, and one wonder if he knew Reverdy's work. I suspect he does. This, almost reads like a Dylan book written in the future. Like Dylan, Reverdy is very cinematic with his writing. One gets clear visuals while reading the text. He knows how to paint a picture in one's head. For me, I can't think of a 'new' book that is so important. The loss of identity or to question such a thing, is very much part of 20th century literature. And I have to admit it is very much part of my work as well. "The Thief of Talent" is for all those who create something, and the need to say au revoir.

[Lance Grabmiller · Rating 4 out of 5]

A novella length prose poem which clears a more tender path between Surrealism and its past than the usual scorched earth of Dada.

All roads lead to Guillaume Apollinaire.

[succulent · Rating 4 out of 5]

I honestly don't know what to say but I kind of want to cry

[baat1ste · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un récit à cheval entre roman et poésie, nageant dans l’indéfini, le mystère et la beauté.

Pierre Reverdy nous propose ici un récit singulier, celui de ses premières années à paris, qui se trouvent transposées dans de somptueux vers libres. Il y mêle la virtuosité de son style — ses premiers pas vers le surréalisme — ainsi que la narration de l’histoire du Voleur de talan.

La typographie est elle aussi singulière puisqu’elle casse la mise en page usuelle des vers libres. Ils ne sont ni alignés ni dans la même police, ils possèdent chacun leur logique propre. Cet éclatement de la poésie sur la page est à même de mettre en valeur chaque mot que le poète y dépose.

L’absence quasi totale de ponctuation accompagnée du rythme léger de la narration ainsi que des multiples images déployées au fil des pages font de ce texte un portail ouvert vers un monde magique et hors du temps.

[Lou · Rating 4 out of 5]

The poetic novel Le voleur du Talan was published in 1917 and subsequently remained out of print until 1967. It is typical of Pierre Reverdy's poetry - intense sentences that encapsulate the emotion of the poet as he lives his life. There is no story but a mood of unsettledness, melancholy, observation and regret. Reverdy is a hard poet to translate in that his words are so basic yet summon up a world that is quite personal: private and remote. Ian Seed has done a remarkable job in translating this work into English which (even in France) is very much neglected and little known.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping for more from this one.

[Mahak · Rating 5 out of 5]

4

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quirky and thoughtful work.

[Ingrid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Contains amazing little lines that I wanted to hug or cry with or sip coffee next to forever. A beautiful translation.

[Gene Zheng · Rating 2 out of 5]

不知所云！比起书本更是包装的商品

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

3+ Stars