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Saint-John Perse sans masque
455 pages, Paperback
First published October 7, 2006
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March 30, 2011
The edition of Saint-John Perse's complete poems in the Bibliotheque de la Pleiade presents his oeuvre as an absolute literary achievement, with only the poet's own carefully edited biography and correspondence to provide context for some often enigmatic poetry. SAINT-JOHN PERSE SANS MASQUE is a "philological reading" of Perse's poetry, a companion for readers who wish commentary and context for his work.
The first part of the book is a chronology of the life of Saint-John Perse/Alexis Leger. This isn't as good as it could have been, I think. It lacks much information that has come to light on Leger's personal relationships (which had a real impact on the poetry) and is too much of a series of well-known facts.
But the meat of the book is a commentary on each of the poems, proceeding division by division in them. Explanation of some of the more difficult passages is often accompanied with reference to Perse scholarship which I probably never would have found otherwise, so as a huge fan of the poet I'm grateful to have found this volume. I think it will be very helpful to enthusiastic readers. If you've read ANABASE, for example, and don't understand what is meant by "The Place of the Dry Tree" or why ice rings in glasses "like Memnon", then you'll find ample explanation here.
The first part of the book is a chronology of the life of Saint-John Perse/Alexis Leger. This isn't as good as it could have been, I think. It lacks much information that has come to light on Leger's personal relationships (which had a real impact on the poetry) and is too much of a series of well-known facts.
But the meat of the book is a commentary on each of the poems, proceeding division by division in them. Explanation of some of the more difficult passages is often accompanied with reference to Perse scholarship which I probably never would have found otherwise, so as a huge fan of the poet I'm grateful to have found this volume. I think it will be very helpful to enthusiastic readers. If you've read ANABASE, for example, and don't understand what is meant by "The Place of the Dry Tree" or why ice rings in glasses "like Memnon", then you'll find ample explanation here.
Displaying 1 of 1 review