For Anatole's Tomb

Mallarme Stephane

In October 1879, Mallarme's eight year old son Anatole died after months of illness. Mallarme's letters tell nothing of the 210 sheets of pencilled notes towards a poem about this death, and they did not appear in his lifetime. When first published in 1961, they revealed a side of the French poet hitherto largely unknown. Even now it disturbs the general image of the poet as a man of resolute impersonality and detachment.

"For Anatole's Tomb" is among the most ambitious works Mallarme attempted, and for all its fragmentation remains a complete and moving reading experience. The en-face translation, based on a recent text established in the Pleiade Mallarme, is preceded by a substantial introduction.

About the Author

Stephane Mallarme was born in Paris in 1842, where he lived for much of his life, and where he died in 1898. He worked as an English teacher for many years. His early poetry was influenced by Baudelaire, and throughout his life he was centrally involved in the development of French symbolism though his close association with writers such as Andre Gide, Paul Valery, and Paul Verlaine. He also had contacts with the artistic and musical world; most notably his poem "L'apres-midi d'un faune" inspired Debussy's tone poem of the same title, and was illustrated by Manet.

Reviews

Awards won by Patrick McGuinness
Long-listed, 2011 Wales Book of the Year, English Language Category in The Western Mail (Jilted City)

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