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Pierre Reverdy

One of the great French modern poets, Pierre Reverdy was born in Narbonne, France, on September 13, 1889. He was the son of a winegrower, who taught him to read and write at home. He left Narbonne for Paris in 1910,

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by Pierre Reverdy (1889–1960)

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16

In the warm air of the ceiling the footlights of dreams are illuminated. The white walls have curved. The burdened chest breathes confused words. In the mirror, the wind from the south spins, carrying leaves and feathers. The window is blocked. The heart is almost extinguished among the already cold ashes of the moon — the hands are without shelter — as all the trees lying down. In the wind from the desert the needles bend and my hour is past.

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Poets Book of Days

September 13

Sherwood Anderson born, 1876

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Poetry Trivia

Question:

For whom is a humorous Japanese poetic form resembling haiku named?

Answer

The form senryu is named after Senry? Karai and follows the 5-7-5 pattern of haiku. In contrast to haiku, which are generally serious and oriented toward nature, senryu are humorous and focus on human foibles. There are additional differences between the haiku and senryu forms so subtle that they sometimes do not survive translation.

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