Pierre Reverdy: Poems Early to Late

Pierre Reverdy (1889-1960) is considered by many to be one of France's most influential poets of the early twentieth century. His two dozen published poetry books went on to influence the Cubists and the Surrealists (playing a part in both groups formation) and his work continued to be viewed, admired and read by poets in Europe and America. Much of his work is still in print today and he is studied and written about as much today as he was some thirty years ago. Small anthologies of his work continue to appear in many languages. This volume is a fairly comprehensive survey of both the verse poems and the prose poems, in a bilingual format, and with prefaces and notes by the editor Mary Ann Caws and Patricia Terry. The Surrealists praised Reverdy as "the greatest living poet" at the time and many modern poets have continued to echo that praise. Reverdy moved to Paris at a young age and continued living there until his death in 1960.

Pierre Reverdy was born in Narbonne, France in 1910 and died in Paris in 1960. His poetry was influential in the Dadaist, Cubist, and Surrealist movements. The participants in all three groups/movements held him in high esteem and considered him to be amongst the great poets of the time. He also founded and edited the literary journal Nord-Sud which published many of the Dadaist and Surrealist writings and was the go to journal for such avante-garde writings. During the war Reverdy was an active member of the resistance. Editor and Translator Mary Ann Caws is an American author, art historian and literary critic. She is currently Distinguished Professor of English, French and Comparative Literature at the Graduate School of the City University of New York. She is one of the leading authorities and translators of all things Dada and Surrealism and has over 50 published books to date. She was also the editor of the Yale Anthology of French poetry. Her writings also appear in publications around the world and she lectures widely in the USA and Europe. Translator Patricia Terry was Professor of french Litereature at Barnard College and the University of California at San Diego. Her last published titles included Capital of Pain by Paul Eluard (co-translated with Mary Ann Caws), Essential Poems and Prose of Jules Laforgue, and The Sea and Other Poems by Guillevic.