Selected Poems of Yam

Author: (French) Francis Jammes
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-01-01
Features: Francis Jammes (1868—1938) was born on December 2, 1868, in Dourdan, beneath the Pyrenees in southern France, and passed away on November 1, 1938. He spent his life away from Paris, living a quiet rural life in the towns of Aureille and Hasparren in southern France, occasionally visiting Paris to meet contemporary poets and writers. In 1897, he published the "Manifesto of Jammism" in the French magazine Mercure de France, advocating a simple and tranquil life of nature and religion. Jammes' poetry draws heavily from religious and natural inspiration, and alongside the American Robert Frost (1874-1963) and the Soviet Sergei Yesenin (1895-1925), he is considered one of France's outstanding pastoral poets and a significant poet of the early 20th century. From Morning Prayer to Evening Prayer (1898) and The Funeral of Spring Blossoms (1901) are collections of his early poetry, serving as both anthologies and representative works. This book is structured primarily around these early poems, supplemented by later works such as Fourteen Hymns to the Lord, Quatrains, and Fountain and Fire, totaling over one hundred poems. It is the most comprehensive introduction to Francis Jammes: Selected Poems available in China. From the praise bestowed upon him as a "rural poet," an "ex provincial (outside Paris) poet," a "poet who celebrates nature and girls," and a "devout religious poet," one can appreciate the poet's unique pure and fresh style. Reading such poetry evokes piety, tranquility, and tenderness, enough to deeply nourish the restless and hectic souls of modern people. Poems within this book, such as "I Love This Gentle Donkey," "With Your Blue Umbrella," and "Prayer for a Donkey to Go to Heaven," are worth reciting repeatedly.