Knowing the East
By: Paul Claudel ; translated by James Lawler.
Contributors: Lawler, James.
Series: The Lockert library of poetry in translation
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Published: 2004
Place of publication: Princeton, NJ
Language: eng
Number of pages: 137
Description: "From the time he was a young man, Paul Claudel was fascinated by Asian cultures. The poet, playwright, and literary critic entered the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a diplomat to China and Japan while in his mid-twenties. He spent 18 years between 1895 and 1927 as a tireless observer of both countries' nature, customs, and art. One result is this beautifully written volume of 61 prose poems Claudel composed over the course of a decade." "James Lawler provides the most accurate translation now available of Paul Claudel's work, which was first collected in a single volume Connaissance de l'Est and published in France in 1907. Included are notes on the poems as well as a biographical note on the poet."--BOOK JACKET.