Valérie Rouzeau (Islands or Continents)

By Bei Bei

Val?rie Rouzeau was born in 1967 near Nevers in the Burgundy region of France. Her father was a scrap metal dealer and once had his crane set down in front of her, as a gift, the salvaged remains of a van complete with seats, roof and sides. In one of her early residencies, at the public library of Pantin, a tough suburb of Paris, she recreated this kind of hideaway in the form of a fragile "cabane," a poetry refuge that she decorated and furnished with images and books of her favorite poets. This set-up encapsulates Rouzeau's life and work: she is known for her civic generosity (few poets in France today are so in demand at schools and residencies and readings), which is combined with a dearly bought and vulnerable privacy in which she composes her unique poems. She is also one of the finest translators of poetry in English into French today, the capstone being her versions of Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 9629966204
• ISBN13: 9789629966201
• Release Date: December 2013
• Publisher: The Chinese University Press
• Length: 46 Pages
• Weight: 1.11 lbs.
• Dimensions: 4.3" x 6.8"
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher