Mallarme in Prose - New Directions S.

Never-before translated prose pieces by the father of the Symbolist movement and one of the most influential cultural figures of 19th-century France. This volume contains never-before translated prose selections--on language and aesthetics (grouped with a brief selection from his meditation The Book) as well as lighter reflections on life, fashion, and the performing arts. A number of sections are devoted to Mallarme's great magazine of wit and opinion (every page of which he wrote himself): Derniere Mode, or The Latest Fashion, which included commentary on clothing, education, and travel. These pieces were written under various pseudonyms of various genders: Madame du Ponty, Mademoiselle Satin, and "the redoubtable and unspecified IX." As the translator and editor of this volume Mary Ann Caws puts it: "It is Mallarme as inventor which this volume wants to celebrate, along with the rest of his genius." Mallarme's reflections on the English language, as well as his portraits of poets and artists (including Tennyson, Poe, and Manet) --and letters to such renowned figures as Valery, Debussy, and Paul Claudel--also contribute to making this an enticing volume, a collection of prose pieces highlighting the multiplicity of Mallarme's voices and the variety of his forms.