Louise Glück is a contemporary American poet, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2020. Born in New York on April 22, 1943, she is known for her introspective poetry and exploration of themes such as family, nature, and identity. Her work, marked by economy of words and deep sensitivity, is characterized by her quest for meaning and dialogue with myths and classical literature. Her writing transforms intimacy and daily life into universal material, enabling the experience of emotions and experiences. Marie Olivier invites us to discover this voice in her essay “Le chant suspendu”. Marie Olivier, a translator of Louise Glück, guides us through her poetic universe, inspired by Greco-Roman mythology, Christian Gospels, and the Hebrew Bible, as well as inheriting from a typically American tradition of everyday writing stemming from empiricism. Marie Olivier decrypts the substance and form of this very sensitive and accessible poetry:
“Louise Glück has a very unique voice; if you open one of her collections, you immediately know it’s her, you know it’s her writing, and you recognize it by her voice, tone, humor, and themes. Like many poets, she addresses existence, life, death, old age, etc. But what matters is how she does it, and therefore her writing. What struck me the most when I discovered her in the United States was this voice. When you read a poem by Louise Glück, you feel involved and you feel that she is speaking to us specifically. There is inevitably something, an image, an experience, a tiny moment where you say to yourself: ‘this is what I have experienced’ and it’s something that resonates very deeply.”
Vita Nova by Louise Glück, translated from English (United States) by Marie Olivier, was published on March 12 in the collection “Du monde entier” by Gallimard, and Le chant suspendu. Essay on the poetry of Louise Glück by Marie Olivier was also published on March 12 in the “Arcades” collection by Gallimard.
Headlines of the day:
- British cartoonist Glen Baxter dies at the age of 82: Master of the absurd and surreal, the artist has not yet commented on his departure, specified Liberation in tribute. In thirty years of his career, Glen Baxter has published around twenty collections; the latest, Historical-Gastronomic Safari in Poitou-Charentes, was released in 2010 by Atlantique editions.
- Three paintings by Renoir, Cézanne, and Matisse stolen from an Italian museum: Four masked individuals entered the villa of the Magnani Rocca foundation and took these paintings during the night from Sunday 22 to Monday 23 March. According to the Italian press, the thieves stole Fishes, a late painting by Auguste Renoir, Still Life with Cherries by Paul Cézanne, and Odalisque on the Terrace by Henri Matisse. The Italian police are investigating and using CCTV footage from the museum as well as surrounding homes and businesses, as stated by the spokesperson for the Carabinieri to AFP.
- The transcription and braille edition center experiments for the first time with printing braille books on demand: Despite the efforts made, the production of braille books remains insufficient with 200 new titles per year compared to 200 new titles per day in traditional publishing. The association based in Toulouse is embarking on a new challenge by offering visually impaired French speakers throughout April to request the adaptation of a book of their choice. The costly production of these adaptations, averaging 700 euros per title, limits the association to a small production. This mission aims to expand their catalog, which now comprises two thousand seven hundred references.
