I am no one in Shehriyar’s city I am nothing. But I have words… These lines from Moroccan poet Rachida Madani‘s moving collection of poems, Tales of a Severed Head, translated from the French by Marilyn Hacker, reveal the essence of her literary endeavor
Tonight, L’Opéra National de Paris hosts the second of a two-night special event in honor of the bicentennial of the birth of Théophile Gautier, the French poet, dramatist, and critic who is known for his devotion to Art for Art’s sake. Author of the scenario for the classic ballet Giselle,
The opening lines of Hédi Kaddour’s poem “New Wine” create the colorful, tangible atmosphere characteristic of his work. Employing surprising descriptions of his everyday world, the narrator of each poem in Kaddour’s collection Treason, translated from the French by Marilyn Hacker, pulls the reader into an environment which is both entirely new and familiar.
More from YUP’s translated poets: Next Wednesday, October 27, the French poet Hédi Kaddour will be at Yale’s Whitney Humanities Center to read from his book, Treason, translated by Marilyn Hacker and published earlier this spring. Kaddour is an acclaimed poet and novelist in France, winner of the Prix du