Poems of Andre Breton: A Bilingual Anthology

by Breton, Andre; Cauvin, Jean-Pierre; Caws, Mary Ann

• ISBN13: 9780976844921
• ISBN10: 0976844923
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-04-17
• Publisher: Black Widow Pr

Summary

Andre Breton (1896-1966) was the founder of Surrealism and a major leader of the avante-garde movement in France following World War I. This exceptional volume brings together the most comprehensive selection of poems by Breton available in the English language. Here, in a bilingual French-English format are 73 poems representing all styles and stages of the writer's career.

Author Biography

Translator Jean-Pierre Cauvin is Professor of French at the University of Texas at Austin. He has written several books and numerous articles on topics including French poetry to Surrealism.
Mary Ann Caws is Distinguished Professor of English, French, and Comparative Literature at The City University of New York. She is the author, translator, and editor of numerous books on the major figures of Surrealism, including Andre Breton.
Authors reside in Austin, TX and New York City.

Table of Contents

Preface: In the Surrealist Light: André Breton, Mary Ann Caws	1	(12)
Introduction: The Poethics of André Breton, Jean-Pierre Cauvin	13	(27)
FROM MONT DE PIÉTÉ (1919)
Age
Age	40	(2)
Pour Lafcadio
For Lafcadio	42	(2)
Monsieur V
Monsieur V	44	(2)
Une Maison peu solide
An Unsteady House	46	(2)
Le Corset Mystère
The Mystery Corset	48	(4)
FROM CLAIR DE TERRE (1923)
Amour parcheminé
Love in Parchment	52	(2)
Cartes sur les dunes
Cards on the Dunes	54	(2)
«C'est aussi le bagne...»
"It too is the penitentiary..."	56	(2)
Rendez-vous
Rendez-vous	58	(2)
Privé
Private	60	(2)
Le Buvard de cendre
Cinder Blotter	62	(2)
Tout paradis n'est pas perdu
No Paradise Is Lost	64	(2)
Silhouette de paille
Straw Silhouette	66	(2)
Mille et mille fois
A Thousand Times and More	68	(4)
Ligne brisée
Broken Line	72	(4)
Tournesol
Sunflower	76	(4)
FROM POISSON SOLUBLE (1924)
«Moins de temps...»
"Less time ..."	80	(2)
«Sale nuit, nuit de fleurs...»
"Night of filth, night of flowers ..."	82	(2)
«On s'est avisé...»
"One day someone...	84	(4)
«Il y avait...»
"There was once..."	88	(3)
L'UNION LIBRE (1931)
L'Union libre
Free Union	91	(7)
FROM LE REVOLVER À CHEVEUX BLANCS (1932)
Non-lieu
No Grounds	98	(2)
Le Verbe être
The Verb To Be	100	(2)
La Forêt dans la hache
The Forest in the Axe	102	(2)
Toutes les écolières ensemble
All the Schoolgirls Together	104	(2)
Nœud des miroirs
Knot of Mirrors	106	(4)
Facteur Cheval
Postman Cheval	110	(4)
Rideau rideau
Curtain Curtain	114	(4)
Le Sphinx vertébral
The Vertebral Sphinx	118	(4)
Vigilance
Vigilance	122	(2)
Sans connaissance
Unconscious	124	(6)
Une Branche d'ortie entre par la fenêtre
A Stalk of Nettle Enters through the Window	130	(2)
Le Grand Secours meurtrier
Deadly Rescue	132	(6)
FROM L'AIR DE L'EAU (1934)
«Monde dans un baiser »
"World in a kiss"	138	(2)
«Je rêve je to vois...
"Dreaming I see you ..."	140	(2)
«Le Marquis de Sade a regagné l'inérieur...»
"The Marquis de Sade has gone back inside ...	142	(2)
Au beau demi-jour
In the lovely twilight	144	(2)
«Yeux zinzolins..."
"Zinnia-red eyes..."	146	(2)
«Il allait être cinq heures du matin »
"It was about to be five in the morning"	148	(2)
«Ils vont tes membres... »
"Your limbs go unfolding..."	150	(2)
«A ta place... »
"If I were you ..."	152	(2)
«Toujours pour la première fois»
"Always for the first time	154	(4)
On me dit
They tell me	158	(4)
FROM 1935-1940 (in Poèmes, 1948)
Monde
World	162	(2)
Le Puits enchanté
The Enchanted Well	164	(6)
Cours-les toutes
Run-them-all	170	(6)
Quels apprêts
What Frills	176	(5)
FATA MORGANA (1940)
Fata Morgana
Fata Morgana	181	(29)
FROM 1940-1943 (in Poèmes, 1948)
Frôleuse
Flirt	210	(4)
Passage à niveau
Grade Crossing	214	(2)
Premiers transparents
Transparent Firsts	216	(2)
Plus que suspect
More than Suspect	218	(2)
Intérieur
Interior	220	(2)
Guerre
War	222	(6)
FROM LES ÉTATS GÉNÉRAUX (1948)
«Dis ce qui est dessous...»
"Say what is underneath..."	228	(6)
FROM DES ÉPINGLES TREMBLANTES (1948)
La Lanterne sourde
The Dark Lantern	234	(4)
FROM XÉNOPHILES (1948)
«La nuit en Haiti...»
"In Haiti at night..."	238	(2)
Korwar
Korwar	240	(2)
Uli
Uli	242	(2)
Dukduk
Dukduk	244	(2)
Tiki
Tiki	246	(2)
Rano Raraku
Rano Raraku	248	(4)
FROM OUBLIÉS (1948)
Ecoute au coquillage
Seashell Sail	252	(2)
Sur la route de San Romano
On the Road to San Romano	254	(6)
FROM CONSTELLATIONS (1959)
Personnages dans la nuit guidés par les traces phosphorescentes des escargots
Persons in the Night Guided by Phosphorescent Snail Tracks	260	(2)
Femmes sur la plage
Women on the Beach	262	(2)
Femme à la blonde aisselle coiffant sa chevelure à la lueur des étoiles
Woman with Blond Underarm Combing Her Hair in the Starlight	264	(2)
L'Etoile matinale
Morning Star	266	(2)
Personnage blessé
Injured Person	268	(2)
Le Chant du rossignol à minuit et la pluie matinale
The Song of the Nightingale at Midnight and the Morning Rain	270	(2)
Le Réveil au petit jour
The Awakening at Daybreak	272	(2)
Femmes au bord d'un lac à la surface irisée par le passage d'un cygne
Women by the Shore of a Lake Made Iridescent by a Passing Swan	274	(2)
Le Bel Oiseau déchiffrant l'inconnu au couple d'amoureux
The Lovely Bird Deciphering the Unknown for a Pair of Lovers	276	(4)
FROM LE LA (1961)
«La 'dictée de la pensée'...»
"The experience (active-passive) of listening...	280	(3)
Notes	283	(3)
Notes on the Poems	286	(14)
The Life and Works of Andre Breton	300	(5)
Selected Bibliography	305