The Inventors: And Other Poems (The French List) - Hardcover

Char, René

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 085742324X ISBN 13: 9780857423245

Publisher: Seagull Books, 2015

Synopsis

One of the foremost poets of the French Resistance, René Char has been hailed by Donald Revell as “the conscience of modern French poetry.” Translated by Mark Hutchinson, The Inventors is a companion volume to Char’s critically acclaimed Hypnos. It gathers more than forty poems that represent a cross-section of Char’s mature work, spanning from 1936 to 1988. All three genres of Char’s work are represented here: verse poems, prose poems, and the abrupt, lapidary propositions for which he is best known. These maxima sententia combine the terseness of La Rochefoucauld with the probing and sometimes riddling character of the fragments of Heraclitus.

The Inventors includes a brief introduction to Char’s life and work, as well as a series of notes on the backstories of the works, which explain allusions that may not be immediately familiar to the English-speaking reader. These new translations stay true to the originals, while at the same time conveying much of the music and beauty of the French poems.

Praise for René Char
“Char, I believe, is a poet who will tower over twentieth-century French poetry.”—George Steiner

About this title

About the Author:

René Char was born in L’Isle-sur-Sorgue in the south of France in 1907 and died in Paris in 1988. A major influence on the generation of French poets who came of age after the Second World War, he was a close friend and associate of Albert Camus. He is widely considered the foremost French poet of his generation. Mark Hutchinson was born in London and lives in Paris. Among his many translations from the French are several books by the poet Emmanuel Hocquard and a collection of essays by the sculptor Raymond Mason.

Review:

“Char’s The Inventors and Other Poems translated by Hutchinson, makes a fine introduction to this major figure, and Seagull’s publications are beautiful objects in themselves.”

(Independent)

“The book feels complete and welcoming, enrapturing as an English-language text of the poetry of Char. Hutchinson and Seagull have released what English readers of Char have needed: a mixture of the beautiful and the scholarly that will open up all readers of Char’s amazing art to vast levels of new understanding.” (Queen Mobs Teahouse)

“With the release of The Inventors, beautifully translated by Hutchinson, Seagull Books does poetry readers a great service by reinvigorating interest in a man once named by Albert Camus as ‘France’s greatest living poet.’ The Inventors is meant to be read alongside Hutchinson’s other translation, Hypnos: Notes from the French Resistance, and for me this is not optional—independently they are each beautiful books, but together they are stunning.” (Bookslut)

“An important member of the French Resistance, Char wrote a variety of poetry ranging from verse to prose and the philosophical to the politically engaged, all of which employs experimental, engaging imagery. This collection provides an entrée into the poet’s work over his career with thoughtful English translations that remain faithful to the originals while maintaining their resonant lyricism.” (World Literature Today)

About this edition

• Publisher: Seagull Books
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 085742324X
• ISBN 13: 9780857423245
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 112