An Anthology of Modern French Poetry (1850–1950)

This is a definite book to own if you are a student of French poetry, or just a really big fan.The collection includes the works of Hugo, Baudelaire, Mallarmé, Rimbaud, Apollinaire, Desnos, Eluard, Verlaine, and other big names in French poetry, over a dozen writers total. The poems themselves run the gamut from romantic to erotic to sad recollection (as is Hugo's poem, the very first in the book: Souvenir de la nuit du 4/Memory from the night of the 4th).Each poet's section begins with a few pages talking about the poet's life and delves into the imagery used in the poems. These sections are a nice welcome, particularly if you're studying the poetry for academia.These analytical sections are in English. THE POETRY IS IN THE ORIGINAL FRENCH. Do not get this book if you are a beginning French student or if you don't speak French at all and like to read French poetry in translation. You will not be pleased. This is not a book of translated poetry, so don't be misled.So why four stars? It's the mistakes. Although this book was first published in the 1970s, my copy is from 1993 ... and there are still errors! For example, in the Hugo poem I just mentioned, in line 57 it's written "at" instead of "et". I've noticed another mistake here and there. Not a lot, but still - look, guys, I understand printing errors cropping up in a first edition, but this book's been out for three decades now. I expect an editor to not be asleep on the job. It detracts from the work.Overall, recommended.

Nice

Comprehensive but looking for more 1960s onwards work but still excellent snapshot of the subject.