Selected Poems of Arthur Rimbaud

Author: (French) Pierre Reverdy
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Publication Date: Not available
Features: Pierre Reverdy (1889—1960), born on September 13, 1889, in the southern French city of Narbonne. His childhood was spent in the countryside. This allowed him, on one hand, to develop an extreme sensitivity to natural imagery through experiencing the sunlight, wind, sea, and vast, solitary beaches of his homeland; on the other hand, it made him very early on experience a state of panic and turmoil, always prepared to resist the overwhelming pressure of nature.
In 1910, he came to Paris with the ambition to "write the most beautiful verses in the world." He formed friendships with artists such as Picasso, Jean Gris, Jacob, and Apollinaire, and participated in Cubist activities alongside them.
In 1916, he founded the journal South-North. This journal later became an experimental ground for new poetry. Between Apollinaire and the surrealist movement, Reverdy acted as a bridge, facilitating a transition.
In 1926, he left Paris for the monastery of Solemes (SOLESMES) and remained there for 34 years! But through what path did Reverdy, from his youthful poetic fervor, eventually embark on a journey of secret dialogue with God and a mystical late-life hermitage? Perhaps no one can say for sure. After that, although he occasionally stayed in Paris, he never truly left Solemes.
On June 16, 1960, he took his last breath, accompanied by the solitude that had been with him all his life. Aragon lamented, "A black sun had fallen upon Solemes."
To call Reverdy a poet is perhaps an understatement—he was more like a sage who had attained enlightenment. He did not seek victory in consumption, though his life was always in a state of being consumed. He hoped to find the natural overflow of poetry from inner fullness. His poems appear simple and repetitive, yet they contain repeated leaps, slow ascents, and gradual descents. In his work, monotony dissolves into fullness, stillness is filled with movement, and the most ordinary narratives shed a shocking tragedy. Under the protection of solitude and wisdom, the depths of his life remained calm and profound throughout his life. Great waves quietly rose and fell without ever truly being born or dying.