James R. Lawler – författare

The Poet as Analyst: Essays on Paul Valéry is a profound exploration of the intellectual and artistic pursuits of one of France's most celebrated poets and thinkers. Through a series of essays, the book examines Valéry’s dual identity as both a poet and an analyst, shedding light on his meticulous process of refining language and ideas to achieve unparalleled clarity and control. The author delves into Valéry’s lesser-known works, such as the extensive Cahiers and several manuscripts, offering readers a unique glimpse into the evolution of his thoughts and creative processes. By tracing his thematic and formal development across decades, the book not only highlights the analytical rigor behind Valéry’s artistry but also reveals his enduring quest to balance intellectual precision with emotional depth.The essays present a chronological and thematic journey through Valéry's work, from early poems like "Sinistre" to late masterpieces such as La Jeune Parque. The analysis emphasizes his ability to blend reason and emotion, revealing a poet who used his art to explore profound personal and universal questions. The book also contextualizes Valéry's intellectual legacy, discussing his influences, such as Stéphane Mallarmé, and his impact on contemporaries like T.S. Eliot. Ultimately, The Poet as Analyst celebrates Valéry's achievements while probing the complexities of his creative and philosophical endeavors, portraying him as a restless seeker of transcendence through language and thought.This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1974.

The Poet as Analyst: Essays on Paul Valéry is a profound exploration of the intellectual and artistic pursuits of one of France's most celebrated poets and thinkers. Through a series of essays, the book examines Valéry’s dual identity as both a poet and an analyst, shedding light on his meticulous process of refining language and ideas to achieve unparalleled clarity and control. The author delves into Valéry’s lesser-known works, such as the extensive Cahiers and several manuscripts, offering readers a unique glimpse into the evolution of his thoughts and creative processes. By tracing his thematic and formal development across decades, the book not only highlights the analytical rigor behind Valéry’s artistry but also reveals his enduring quest to balance intellectual precision with emotional depth.The essays present a chronological and thematic journey through Valéry's work, from early poems like "Sinistre" to late masterpieces such as La Jeune Parque. The analysis emphasizes his ability to blend reason and emotion, revealing a poet who used his art to explore profound personal and universal questions. The book also contextualizes Valéry's intellectual legacy, discussing his influences, such as Stéphane Mallarmé, and his impact on contemporaries like T.S. Eliot. Ultimately, The Poet as Analyst celebrates Valéry's achievements while probing the complexities of his creative and philosophical endeavors, portraying him as a restless seeker of transcendence through language and thought.This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1974.

Although Rene Char's distinctive voice has brought him to the forefront of contemporary French writers; his complex poetry has remained virtually inaccessible to the general reader. In this book an eminent authority on French literature describes Char's evolution and, through close readings, offers a clear and rewarding introduction to the poet's /uvre. James Lawler first traces Char's growth by delineating the myth that has guided his poetry for forty years. While the Surrealists exerted an early influence on the writer, his work diverged from theirs as he gave voice to a more personal attitude toward nature and art, to a refashioned poetics and thought. The author shows how Char's development culminates in the visionary symbolism of La Paroi et la Prairie, in which wall and prairie epitomize the unresolved tension of his mature writings. Throughout his readings, Professor Lawler supplements close textual analysis with consideration of thematic, mythological, and moral elements of the poetry, discussing each aspect as it illuminates the nature of Char's sensibility."The ten short poems [of La Paroi et la Prairie] are typical of their author," he writes, "and paradigmatic of a work that is a summit of French poetry since Valery and Apollinaire." Originally published in 1978. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Valery's essays on Leonardo, Poe, Mallarme, and with these the "Teste Cycle," were that part of his work most central to his thought. The extensive selection included from his Notebooks is evidence of his enduring interest in these figures. The essays are, in fact, the only work with marginal glosses, Valery's notations showing how he went back, amending and amplifying his original ideas. Originally published in 1972. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Poems ranging from "La Jeune Parque" and "Le Cimetiere marin" to occasional and light verse written as letters to friends, dedications in books, and inscriptions on ladies' fans demonstrate the wide scope of Valery's lyric preoccupation. The bilingual edition, with David Paul's English translations facing the French texts, includes the autobiographical "Recollection," quoted below, and excerpts on poetry, selected and translated from Valery's notebooks by James Lawler. Paul Valery turned to the discipline of poetry during the First World War, to escape from the "commotion of a world gone mad." "I fashioned myself a poetry," he wrote, "that had no other law than to establish for me a way of living with myself, for a part of my days." Originally published in 1971. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions.The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

The traits that characterize the "language" of French Symbolism are the center of these essays. In interpreting major or previously neglected compositions by Mallarme, Verlaine, Rimbaud, Claudel, Valery, and Apollinaire, the author shows how each of these poets worked with the elements that distinguish this influential group of writers as a whole. Originally published in 1969. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Valery's essays on Leonardo, Poe, Mallarme, and with these the "Teste Cycle," were that part of his work most central to his thought. The extensive selection included from his Notebooks is evidence of his enduring interest in these figures. The essays are, in fact, the only work with marginal glosses, Valery's notations showing how he went back, amending and amplifying his original ideas. Originally published in 1972. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Poems ranging from "La Jeune Parque" and "Le Cimetiere marin" to occasional and light verse written as letters to friends, dedications in books, and inscriptions on ladies' fans demonstrate the wide scope of Valery's lyric preoccupation. The bilingual edition, with David Paul's English translations facing the French texts, includes the autobiographical "Recollection," quoted below, and excerpts on poetry, selected and translated from Valery's notebooks by James Lawler. Paul Valery turned to the discipline of poetry during the First World War, to escape from the "commotion of a world gone mad." "I fashioned myself a poetry," he wrote, "that had no other law than to establish for me a way of living with myself, for a part of my days." Originally published in 1971. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions.The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.