Overview
A penetrating and encompassing English-language translation from the celebrated French poet touching on death, domesticity, nature, language itself, andāalwaysāthe body.
French literary icon Marie-Claire Bancquart (1932ā2019) is known for an uncanny inhabitation of the concrete, finding whole worlds, even afterlives, in daily instances and spaces. āIf I could seize a little nothing / a bit of nothing,ā she muses, āall things would come to me / those that dance / in its cloth.ā The tiniest moments can be acts of utterance, defiance, communion, and immortality. Yet death does indeed appear in the everyday, though itās more than a fact of existence. It is fiction as well, small cunning stories we create so weāre not merely waiting for it: āone sets / close by / the pot of orange flowers / the here and now / to block the view.ā
Here, the infinitesimal has no end; the smaller life gets, the deeper and more carefully Bancquart has us pause to notice its offerings. Though for her āthe bodyā is the surest, most trustworthy way of knowing, the mystery of language is often referenced, and reverenced. And translator Jody Gladding, an award-winning poet herself, beautifully carries forward Bancquartās lifetime of distinctive work. Every Minute Is First is lean, lucid yet philosophical poetry, reflecting visceral life and experiential thought, walking in the dark with a light, lighting wordsāor alighting on themāin their own incandescent power to make the long-lived journey meaningful.
This book title, Every Minute Is First (Selected Late Poems), ISBN: 9781639550906, by Marie-Claire Bancquart, Jody Gladding, published by Milkweed Editions (April 9, 2024) is available in paperback. Our minimum order quantity is 25 copies. All standard bulk book orders ship FREE in the continental USA and delivered in 4-10 business days.
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