One Hundred and One Poems by Paul Verlaine: A Bilingual Edition

FROM THE PUBLISHER

French poet Paul Verlaine, a major representative of the Symbolist Movement during the latter half of the nineteenth century, was one of the most gifted and prolific poets of his time. Norman Shapiro's superb new translations display Verlaine's ability to transform into timeless verse the essence of everyday life and make evident the reasons for his renown in France and throughout the Western world.

This selection provides the reader with a well-chosen cross section of Verlaine's extensive and impressive repertoire. Shapiro has included a number of the poet's early works, showing him at his most capricious and lyrical; many poems from his middle period, which reflect his on-again, off-again conversion to Catholicism after his tumultuous relationship with Arthur Rimbaud; and poems from his late period, when he fell prey to poverty, dissipation, and disease. These later poems, rarely anthologized, and for the most part little known, mark an important shift in Verlaine's style and exhibit the biting wit and deep sincerity that characterize this entire collection. Informative biographical introductions and notes help explain the circumstances that gave rise to Verlaine's work. By spanning the poet's entire life's work, Shapiro presents to scholars, students, and general readers of poetry the full range of Verlaine's achievement.

One Hundred and One Poems by Paul Verlaine provides an unprecedented representation of Verlaine's oeuvre while simultaneously offering readers of English an artistically faithful rendering of his haunting and lucid verse.

FROM THE CRITICS

Genevieve Abravanel - Harvard Review

The strength of this selection lies not only in its sweep, but in its delicate attention to each poem. Shapiro's unique translations of this whimsical, agonized music are more than adequate to bring the multifarious Verlaine to new generation of English speakers.

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