Librarian
Introduction
Responses to poetry can often be as informative as poetry itself when researching a writer, era, or genre. The French poetic tradition includes many important pieces of critical literature that reflect both on particular writers and on the nature of writing more broadly. These books – their contents, structure, form, and publication history – have helped shape the French conception of poetic criticism since the eighteenth century.
Books at Booth
- De Villon à Peguy
This volume uses five specific poets to tell the history of French poetry, beginning with the “dawn” of François Villon and ending with the “dusk” of Charles Peguy. Each chapter contains a brief biography and an explanation of the poet’s works and philosophy, with brief excerpts from their writings. Though clearly not a comprehensive summary of all French poetry, Fowlie’s work does shed light on important themes throughout the genre. - Réflexions Critiques sur la Poësie et sur la Peinture
This 1770 book is an early example of French literary and artistic theory. The author, Jean-Baptiste Dubos, presents arguments on the nature of artistic talent, the importance of aesthetics, and other conditions surrounding the value and creation of various forms of art including poetry. - La poésie américaine
This collection unpacks and explains the works of several pre-20th century American poets, including Ralph Waldo Emerson, Edgar Allan Poe, Emily Dickenson, Robert Frost, and Walt Whitman, among others. Each chapter contains English and French versions of several well-known poems followed by an academic response. Published in Paris, the book provides a French perspective on the overseas literary scene.
