The Centenary Corbiere

Tristan Corbiere

Tristan Corbiere, for those not following along, was (to oversimplify things a bit but stay relatively accurate) the father of symbolism. Those who began the symbolist movement were all huge fans of Corbiere, and is influence has come down to use today to the point where almost every modern American poet has felt, however indirectly, the influence of Tristan Corbiere (mostly through T. S. Eliot and Ezra Pound, both of whom were much influenced by the young Breton). Given that, doesn't it strike you as just a bit odd that Corbiere's complete work wasn't available in English until 1975? Two selected volumes had previously been released (1947 and 1954), and both quickly went out of print. Sad to say, Val Warner's edition, the most complete ever available in English, suffered much the same fate. (A new translation of Les Amours Jaunes is forthcoming in April 2005. We'll see how long it lasts.)

That it stands as the only English translation of Corbiere that made any real attempt to collect his complete writings makes The Centenary Corbiere invaluable to poets simply by its existence (at least until an actual Complete Works comes along). Warner's sixty-five page (!) introduction bogs down in places, but is certainly worth reading for newcomers to Corbiere. Fans of modern poetry, either European or American, will find a good deal to like here, as the influence Corbiere has had on modern poets is quite visible through his own words. (Diamanda Galas fans will also want to pick this up for "Cris d'Aveugle.")

Quite worthwhile.