French Poetry

An enchanting collection of poetry from French-speaking cultures round the globe, spanning the ages from medieval to modern.

From the troubadours of the Middle Ages to the titans of modern poetry, from Rabelais and Ronsard to Jacques Réda and Yves Bonnefoy, French Poetry offers English-speaking readers a one-volume introduction to a rich and varied tradition.

From the troubadours of the Middle Ages to the titans of modern poetry, from Rabelais and Ronsard to Jacques Réda and Yves Bonnefoy, French Poetry offers English-speaking readers a one-volume introduction to a rich and varied tradition. Here are today’s rising stars mingling with the great writers of past centuries: La Fontaine, Villon, du Bellay, Christine de Pisan, Marguerite de Navarre, Louise Labé, Hugo, Baudelaire, Rimbaud, Verlaine, Mallarmé, Apollinaire, and many more. Here, too, are representatives of the modern francophone world, encompassing Lebanese, Tunisian, Senegalese and Belgian poets, including such notable writers as Léopold Senghor, Vénus Khoury-Ghata and Hédi Kaddour.

Finally, this anthology showcases a wide range of the English language’s finest translators - including such renowned poet-translators as Ezra Pound, John Ashbery, Marianne Moore and Derek Mahon - in a dazzling tribute to the splendours of French poetry.