Return to Calm

Fiction. Translated from the French by Aaron Prevots. RETURN TO CALM, published in French in 1989 and appearing here as a full bilingual edition, immerses the reader in Jacques Reda's lyrical observations of the everyday. Its seven distinct sections offer reflections on youth, on travel in open country, on seasons, on Paris and on remembrance itself. They provide a rhythmic initiation into the outer world's beauty, through the eyes of a writer deeply attuned to the passing of time and space.

Jacques Reda (b. 1929) is the author of more than forty books, including works of poetry, autobiographical prose, short novels, and essays on topics ranging from jazz to city life to literature. A cultural icon and eminent literary figure in mainland Europe, he is the recipient of numerous honors, including the Prix Valery Larbaud (1983), the Grand Prix de l'Academie Francaise (1993) and the Prix Louis Mandin (2005), all three awarded in recognition of his lifetime's achievements. Reda's books available from SPD include EUROPES (Host Publications, 2009) and RETURN TO CALM (Host Publications, 2007).