AGAINST THE FORGETTING - Selected Poems (First edition - first printing - first extensive collection in English)

Hans Faverey (Translated from the Dutch by Francis R. Jones)

ISBN 10: 0856462330 / ISBN 13: 9780856462337

Published by Anvil Press Poetry, 60 King George Street, London SE10 8PX, 1994

About this Item

First edition - first printing - published as a paperback original. A posthumous collection and the extensive collection in English. ***A virtually fine copy in illustrated glossy card covers, with integral French flaps, printed in slate, gold, white and black. There are no obvious faults - no rubbing, creasing bumps or tears. No fading. Internally also fine with no ownership inscriptions or annotations. Printed on lovely quality cream laid paper. ***217mm x 140mm. 256 pages including two pages of Translator's Notes at the back of the book.

***'Hans Antonius Faverey (14 Sep 1933, in Paramaribo - 8 Jul 1990, in Amsterdam) was a Dutch poet of Surinamese descent. Besides being a poet, he was a lecturer at the psychology department of the Universiteit Leiden. Faverey was born in Suriname, but moved to the Netherlands in 1939 where he graduated from the University of Amsterdam, and was a psychologist by profession. In 1959 he married the poet Lela Zeckovic, and in 1965 started to work at the University of Leiden as a lecturer. Faverey's poetry is thought of as dense and difficult, though Favery usually laughed at such remarks, saying that it really is not that hard. His first two collections were poorly received and only few critics praised them; nevertheless, he received the Poetry Award from the city of Amsterdam for his debut, "Gedichten" ("Poems")'. (Wiki)

***'"Against the Forgetting" introduces an important poet with the first extensive selection in English from the work of Hans Faverey (1933-1990). Francis R. Jones's translations capture both the musicality and the sinuous density of Faverey's original Dutch. Quiet, rich and thoughtful, Faverey's poetry developed from the fragmented, mysterious images of his early work to the more explicit and representational style with which he gained wider recognition.' (Quote taken from the front flap)

***"Emptying one's head / with one's hand on one's heart. / Hitting my head / to empty my heart. / Meanwhile, enticing distance, / as distance should / be: enticing. (Quote taken from the poem 'from Hommage a Hercules Seghers')

***First printing of the true first edition, in virtually fine condition. Published as a paperback original. A beautifully produced poetry book. ***For all our books, postage is charged at cost, allowing for packaging: any shipping rates indicated on ABE are an average only: we will reduce the P & P charge where appropriate - please contact us for postal rates for heavier books and sets etc.

Seller Inventory # PB765

Bibliographic Details

• Title: AGAINST THE FORGETTING - Selected Poems (First edition - first printing - first extensive collection in English)
• Publisher: Anvil Press Poetry, 60 King George Street, London SE10 8PX
• Publication Date: 1994
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0856462330
• ISBN 13: 9780856462337
• Binding: Original Wraps
• Edition: First Edition
• Printing: First Printing
• Condition: Near Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket, as Issued
• Seller catalogs:
  • First Editions
  • Literature in Translation

About this title

Synopsis

Poetry Book Society Recommended Translation

`Against the Forgetting' introduces an important poet with the first extensive selection in English from the work of Hans Faverey (1933-1990). Francis R Jones's translations capture both the musicality and the sinuous density of Faverey's original Dutch. Quiet, rich and thoughtful, Faverey's poetry developed from the fragmented, mysterious images of his early work to the more explicit and representational style with which he gained wider recognition.

Edwin Morgan writes "Hans Faverey made his reputation only gradually, as readers came to realize that his pared-down, quietist, totally unflashy poems were in fact both moving and thought-provoking. He is a poet of losses and silences, of meditations on change and how change either undermines or strengthens our sense of reality."

About the Author

Hans Faverey was born in Paramaribo, Dutch Guiana in 1933, but grew up in Amsterdam. He was a clinical psychologist at the University of Leiden. He published eight collections of poetry, the last appearing only days before his death in July 1990. He received various literary awards, including the 1990 Constantijn Huygens Prize for his work as a whole.

Francis R Jones (b. 1955) lectures in English as a foreign language at the University of Newcastle. His other translations include Vasko Popa's `Collected Poems' (with the late Anne Pennington, Anvil, 1997), `Last Quarter' (1987), `The Passionate Measure' (European Poetry Translation Prize, 1989) and `A Rusty Needle' (Poetry Book Society Recommended Translation, 1996).