Sensibility and Creation: Studies in Twentieth-Century French Poetry

Sensibility and Creation (1977) comprises a dozen critical studies by different contributors on a selection of major French poets of the twentieth century. These range from poets of long-established reputation, such as Paul Valéry, Pierre Reverdy, Saint-John Perse and Paul Eluard, to contemporary poets such as Yves Bonnefoy and Jacques Dupin. The guiding theme is that of the characteristic sensibility which informs the creative work of each poet: the way he has of selecting and patterning the elements which make up the world he inhabits and which in a sense he is also creating. In some instances the poetry is examined for its selective textures and shapes, and in others the critical focus is more closely directed to the linguistic and stylistic strategies adopted by the writer.