10,000 Dawns
The Love Poems of Claire and Yvan Goll
Published in France in 1951 and appearing here for the first time in exquisite English translations that capture the poignancy of the originals, this volume also reproduces the eight drawing by Marc Chagall that appeared in the original, many of them of the poets themselves. The poems move back and forth between the two poets, creating an intimate yet universal conversation between two people who knew they had found their soulmate.
“Unlike the Surrealists, Goll loved a real woman, who was an unchanging presence in his life . . . it may well be that Goll will be remembered for these poems. Their simple visionary grace, the ease with which they build a spiritual moment out of commonplace, almost conventional, images, make the love poems unique in modern poetry.”—Paul Zweig
Yvan Goll (1891-1950) is recognized as one of the great bilingual poets of the 20th century. He was a central figure in the French surrealist movement and the author of over fifty books of poetry, plays, essays, and fiction. Claire Goll (1890-1977) began life in Germany. Married to Goll in 1917, she went on to have a love and literary affair with Rilke, but Goll remained her great love. She left behind some half-dozen novels as well as volumes of short stories, poetry, autobiography and various translations. Thomas Rain Crowe is a poet and translator. His books include The Laugharne Poems and two books of translations of the Persian mystic poet Hafiz: In The WInesellers's Street, and Drunk on the Wine of the Beloved: 100 Poems of Hafiz. Nan Watkins is a writer, translator, musician, and librarian. She has translated the work of several poets from the German. Her travel memoir, East Toward Dawn: A women's Solo Journey Around the World was published by Seal Press in 2002.
