French Poetry

by MCGUINNESS PATRICK

From the troubadours of the Middle Ages to the titans of modern poetry, from Rabelais and Ronsard to Jacques Réda and Yves Bonnefoy, French Poetry offers English-speaking readers a one-volume introduction to a rich and varied tradition. Here are today’s rising stars mingling with the great writers of past La Fontaine, Villon, du Bellay, Christine de Pisan, Marguerite de Navarre, Louise Labé, Hugo, Baudelaire, Rimbaud, Verlaine, Mallarmé, Apollinaire, and many more. Here, too, are representatives of the modern francophone world, encompassing Lebanese, Tunisian, Senegalese and Belgian poets, including such notable writers as Léopold Senghor, Vénus Khoury-Ghata and Hédi Kaddour. Finally, this anthology showcases a wide range of the English language’s finest translators - including such renowned poet-translators as Ezra Pound, John Ashbery, Marianne Moore and Derek Mahon - in a dazzling tribute to the splendours of French poetry.

Genres: Poetry

256 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2017

Reviews

[Nathan Nicolau · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only loved the Baudelaire selections. Only one for Prevert? Blasphemy.

[Brenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having been immersed in American and English poetry for the past few reads, I was eager to give the French greats a try. This volume strengthened my desire to read a few of the classics- Rimbaud, Verlaine, and Baudelaire in particular. The World War poems, eerie as they were, struck a strong note with me as well. The translations are great, but anyone proficient in French may want to give the originals a try. This volume is organized chronologically, starting with medieval works and ending with a handful of poems from the past few decades. The more modern (post-WWII) poems were a bit over my head, but then again, I find that much of post-war modernism (especially visual art) has that effect on me...

[Randi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Took me about a year and a half all together, but I got through it! I put sticky-notes on all the poems that really stood out to me, but there were so many others to which my only thought could be, "What the hell is this?"

Guess that's what happens when you have an anthology spanning several centuries and many different movements and styles.

One thing I can say for this collection: it introduced me to some lovely new-for-me poets. I would have liked a bilingual edition, but ah well, can't have it all.

[Jack Malik · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t have much thought about this anthology and French poetry. Nonetheless, here are some absolute bangers:

The Roses of Saadi, Marceline Desbordes-Valmore
In The Sun, Paul Valéry
Here’s the Coffin; Calligram, 15 May 1915, Guillaume Apollinaire
The Old Station at Cahors, Valéry Larbaud
Nyx, Catherine Pozzi
Rain & Tyrants, Jules Supervielle
Proclamation without Pretension, Tristan Tzara
Epitaph; Last Poem, Robert Desnos
Absence, Jean Follain
Link of the Chain Gang, Aimé Césaire
Rain, Anne Hérbert
Day by Day, Paul de Roux
From A Speck of Gold in the Mud, Guy Goffette

[Melina · Rating 4 out of 5]

No emily Dickinson but in spite of the shortcomings I still love it