André du Bouchet (1924–2001)

No matter what you think of his fiction, Paul Auster has done some good in the world by translating French poetry, and this volume is a great example of that. Hoyt Rogers, who translated the early and late Bouchet for this book, did good editorial work; his selections show Bouchet's work developing, without ever losing its spareness and opacity, nor its intelligence. As Auster himself says, Bouchet avoids the grandiosity that sometimes ruins French poetry for anglos like myself; it's no surprise at all that he was a translator of Celan.

I can't say if Auster and Rogers are right in their claims that Bouchet has had a huge influence on French poetry; I can say this is volume is well worth a look, particularly if you have a bit of French yourself, and enjoy restraint.… (más)