Raven / Le Corbeau

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Stephane Mallarme (1842-1898) claimed to have learned English in order to read Poe, an American poet greatly admired by the French Symbolists. This volume reproduces at full size the first-edition bilingual publication of "Le Corbeau / The Raven" (Richard Lesclide, Paris, 1875), Mallarme's prose translation of Poe's melancholy poem, including six commissioned illustrations by edouard Manet – four that visually interpret specific stanzas of the poem, one that serves as the ex-libris and a cover image of a raven's head that functions as the poem's title. In addition, a new retranslation back into English of Mallarme's text, which was both praised and criticized for its literalism, reveals the particular tenor and subtleties of his reading of Poe's verse and his feel, as a fellow poet, for the emotive and evocative power of language. The result is a circular exploration of the poem and its translation. The volume also reflects Mallarme's specifications for layout, typeface and paper.

This is the second in a series exploring Mallarme in translation. The first, A Blow of Dice Never Will Abolish Chance, appeared in 2018; forthcoming is a translation of the second published collaboration between Mallarme and Manet, "Afternoon of a Faun" (L'apres-midi d'un faune).