Synopsis
Paul Valéry’s most celebrated collection Charmes was first published in 1922. It contains several of his most famous poems, including 'Ébauche d’un serpent’ and 'Le cimetière marin’ – in Yvor Winters’ view 'the two greatest short poems ever written.’ The collection as a whole has achieved classic status as the finest work by the finest modern French poet. Here it is helpfully introduced and discussed by Peter Dale who has also appended some early poems, and one much later piece, of related interest. Peter Dale has been working on his translations for some thirty years. As ever, he takes the hardest – and for the reader, most rewarding – route in making versions with corresponding rhyme and metre. The result is a fresh view of an intriguing poet, somewhat neglected but now revived in English. Peter Dale is the author of notable translations of Dante’s Divine Comedy and selections from the poetry of Tristan Corbière, Jules Laforgue and François Villon. These and his own collections Edge to Edge (1996) and Under the Breath (2002) are published by Anvil.
…Translation is a difficult art and I can’t help thinking that Peter Dale has increased his difficulties by taking the decisions he has in his approach to the task. He and Anvil have performed a valuable service in bringing this great French poet to an English readership. As with any work of translation, this collection leads us back to a close reading of the originals and offers a reminder that translations are, to borrow a phrase form Valéry himself, not completed but abandoned. As the poet-translator Nicholas Moore remarked; ‘All I have against translation is that it can’t be done!’ It can’t be done; but it must be tried.Barry Wood
Barry Wood
Like Rimbaud, Valery, too, can be treacherous territory for the translator; formal versions can sound forced, while free versions can threaten to overwhelm the original's intricacies.When it comes to rhymed and metrical translations, Peter Dale, as ever, is a very safe pair of hands. His new bi-lingual edition of Valery's Charmes offers his usual skill and delicacy, which alongside Anvil's usual high-quality production, make this volume a delight.
Josephine Balmer
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