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Stone Lyre: Poems of Rene Char
A new bilingual (French & English) edition of Selected Poems from one of the 20th Century's most majestic poets. Acclaim for Carlson's work has included accolades from Donald Revell, poet and translator of Rimbaud and Apollinaire: "Rene Char is the conscience of modern French poetry and also its calm of mind. Nancy Naomi Carlson, in these splendid translations, casts new light upon the sublime consequence of Char's poetic character, and in Stone Lyre the case for sublimity is purely made." And Cole Swensen, poet, translator, and founding editor of La Presse, has said: "Early Surrealist, resistance fighter, anti-nuclear activist, and exquisite poet, Rene Char is at the heart of 20th century French poetry. In this insightful selection from across Char's long career, Carlson gives English-language readers a real sense of Char's depth and breadth. And her masterful translations catch the barely contained drama that gives Char's work such tension and presence, while her excellent ear picks up not only the sound relationships that weave through the originals, but also their delicate, seductive rhythms.""
- GenresPoetry
124 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
About the author
René Char
148 books132 followersRené Char spent his childhood in Névons, the substantial family home completed at his birth, then studied as a boarder at the school of Avignon and subsequently, in 1925, a student at L'École de Commerce de Marseille, where he read Plutarch, François Villon, Racine, the German Romantics, Alfred de Vigny, Gérard de Nerval and Charles Baudelaire.
His first book, Cloches sur le cœur was published in 1928 as a compilation of poems written between 1922 and 1926. In late November 1929, Char moved to Paris, where he met Louis Aragon, André Breton, and René Crevel, and joined the surrealists. He remained active in the surrealist movement through the early 1930s but distanced himself gradually from the mid-1930s onward. Throughout his career, Char's work appeared in various editions, often with artwork by notable figures, including Kandinsky, Picasso, Braque, Miró, Matisse and Vieira da Silva.
Char was a friend and close associate of Albert Camus, Georges Bataille and Maurice Blanchot among writers, Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, Nicolas de Staël, Georges Braque and Victor Brauner among painters. He was to have been in the car involved in the accident that killed both Camus and Gallimard, but there was not enough room, and returned instead that day by train to Paris.
The composer Pierre Boulez wrote three settings of Char's poetry, Le Soleil des eaux, Le visage nuptial, and Le marteau sans maître. A late friendship developed also between Char and Martin Heidegger, who described Char's poetry as "a tour de force into the ineffable" and was repeatedly his guest at La Thor in the Vaucluse.
His first book, Cloches sur le cœur was published in 1928 as a compilation of poems written between 1922 and 1926. In late November 1929, Char moved to Paris, where he met Louis Aragon, André Breton, and René Crevel, and joined the surrealists. He remained active in the surrealist movement through the early 1930s but distanced himself gradually from the mid-1930s onward. Throughout his career, Char's work appeared in various editions, often with artwork by notable figures, including Kandinsky, Picasso, Braque, Miró, Matisse and Vieira da Silva.
Char was a friend and close associate of Albert Camus, Georges Bataille and Maurice Blanchot among writers, Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, Nicolas de Staël, Georges Braque and Victor Brauner among painters. He was to have been in the car involved in the accident that killed both Camus and Gallimard, but there was not enough room, and returned instead that day by train to Paris.
The composer Pierre Boulez wrote three settings of Char's poetry, Le Soleil des eaux, Le visage nuptial, and Le marteau sans maître. A late friendship developed also between Char and Martin Heidegger, who described Char's poetry as "a tour de force into the ineffable" and was repeatedly his guest at La Thor in the Vaucluse.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 30, 2020
This is my first acquaintance with René Char (1907-1988), one of the most celebrated French poets of the 20th century. So, I had something to make up for. My French is quite good, but poetry is of a different order. That is why I prefer bilingual editions, with the original and the translation. Usually they also contain explanations, so that not only the translation is a help, but you also get more insight into the multi-layered nature of the original. And that is certainly so in this collection, and it is also necessary, I must say.
Not that Char is a notoriously hermetic writer. But many of his poems refer to places, people and events in his own circle and then it clarifies something if you know a little more about the background. Yes, I know, poetry has to speak for itself, and that is also the case with Char. Especially his musicality appealed to me, a subtle and refined musicality, which is not aimed at easy effect, because every word also covers a charge. And then you notice how intense his poetry is, and how he also dares to take "the big grip", involves the whole cosmos in the micro-events he writes about.
What is striking is the versatility of his poetry: not only the classical poetry forms are present, but also ordinary (well, what's ordinary?) aphorisms, and quite a few prose poems. I notice, and this is not the first time, that the latter in particular have my preference. I fear that I will remain a prose man in heart and soul. But René Char, I definitely want to read more of him!
Not that Char is a notoriously hermetic writer. But many of his poems refer to places, people and events in his own circle and then it clarifies something if you know a little more about the background. Yes, I know, poetry has to speak for itself, and that is also the case with Char. Especially his musicality appealed to me, a subtle and refined musicality, which is not aimed at easy effect, because every word also covers a charge. And then you notice how intense his poetry is, and how he also dares to take "the big grip", involves the whole cosmos in the micro-events he writes about.
What is striking is the versatility of his poetry: not only the classical poetry forms are present, but also ordinary (well, what's ordinary?) aphorisms, and quite a few prose poems. I notice, and this is not the first time, that the latter in particular have my preference. I fear that I will remain a prose man in heart and soul. But René Char, I definitely want to read more of him!
April 26, 2020
Great book of poems. Better than I thought it would be.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews