The Self-Dismembered Man

Guillaume Apollinaire

This selection of Apollinaire's war poems, translated by Donald Revell, is not the "first substantial translation" the jacket claims (both the Selected Poems and Michael Benedikt's must-have collection The Poetry of Surrealism contain extensive selections from the same time-period), but it certainly is a substantial work, and one that everyone who claims to be a fan of surrealism needs to read, and pronto. Revell's translations have an almost singular ability to keep Apollinaire's subtle wit intact, and his word choices often allow a number of different interpretations to come through. Not to say that some of Revell's word choices emphasize certain interpretations; there's no way to avoid this when translating poetry. Still, he seems to have made a conscious effort to be as ambiguous as Apollinaire wherever possible, which is a wonderful thing.

The only slipping point is the final poem, "La Jolie Rousse," but then I've had problems with every translation of "La Jolie Rousse" since Hamburger's a quarter of a century ago, so my thoughts aren't to be trusted on that one.

Very good stuff, well worth picking up.