Complete Poems: A Bilingual Edition P <scp>ernette du</scp> G <scp>uillet</scp> : Complete Poems: A Bilingual Edition. Edited with Introduction and Notes by K <scp>aren</scp> S <scp>imroth</scp> J <scp>ames</scp> . Poems translated by M <scp>arta</scp> R <scp>ijn</scp> F <scp>inch</scp> . (Other Voice in Early Modern Europe; Toronto Series, 6). Toronto: Iter Inc, 2010. xii + 360 pp.

This bilingual edition of Pernette du Guillet's poetry makes her complete writings available in English for the first time, as well as providing a new critical edition of the French texts. Du Guillet's importance as a lyric poet is often overshadowed by that of Louise Labé, whose preface to her own Œuvres has led to her being regarded as a Renaissance champion of the feminist cause. Karen Simroth James's Introduction shows us that du Guillet's revision of the representation of women and the expression of female subjectivity was no less radical. She carefully excavates du Guillet's poems from the cultural networks to which they are connected. These include not only the works of textual predecessors such as Maurice Scève, Jean Lemaire de Belges, and Clément Marot, but also cultural intertexts such as music and Neoplatonism. Students will particularly appreciate the lucid explanations of the ways in which du Guillet claims a female voice of her own within this latter, as this is a complex area but one that is important if du Guillet's distinctive tone is to be heard. The Introduction also provides a useful overview of numerous aspects of the context of the works' initial appearance in 1545. These include the significance of Lyon as a publishing centre and the particular role of Jean de Tournes in printing works for and about women. Here, as everywhere, the complexities of the cultural contexts are teased out so that the reader may appreciate the importance of gender for the understanding of du Guillet's contribution to literature. Explicit and extensive comparison is made with Labé, which enables some generic issues concerning the publication in print of women's writing to be addressed. In light of Mireille Huchon's remarks on du Guillet in her controversial book Louise Labé: une créature de papier (Geneva: Droz, 2006), Simroth James bravely tackles head-on the difficulties of verifying the existence of a female writer who left only her poetry as her legacy. This is an essential part of current debates on the value and meaning of female-authored texts in the French Renaissance. Throughout the Introduction, key concepts are explained clearly, and there are frequent helpful signposts to further reading. Marta Rijn Finch shows an admirable determination to render the poetry from the inside, and it is clear from the Introduction and Translator's Note that this volume is the result of a fruitful collaborative process that sought to tread the line between creative adaptation and fidelity to the source text. The accessible translations, copious notes, glossary to more difficult vocabulary, and exhaustive bibliography will make the inclusion of du Guillet's poetry on undergraduate curricula a genuinely attractive prospect.

Récupéré en direct depuis OpenAlex et désinversé. Les résumés ne sont pas conservés dans cette base de données : les index inversés représentent 8,6 Go des 9,3 Go de texte de la base, et le serveur dispose de 13 Go libres.