Poetry. Translated from the French by Julie Kalendek. "The elegance of this book lies rooted in the sultriness of naming and the eroticism of possessing—and paradoxically, the unreliability of writing to specifically name or possess anything. Daive's poetry is immersed within the blurs, perforations, negatives and details that surround objects....The force of words that can simultaneously cradle and destroy the space of thought is what Daive's poetry masters. He charts the movements from thought to word, from desire to touch, with the eye of one tracking a barely visible ship on the horizon."—Kristin Prevallet

Author City: Paris FRA

Born in 1941, Jean Daive has since the 1960s composed an impressive investigative oeuvre that alternates between poetry, narration and reflective prose. He is also a photographer. He has worked on encyclopedias and as radio journalist, has edited three magaziness as well as translated Paul Celan and Robert Creeley. His first book, Décimale blanche (1967) was translated into German by Paul Celan, into English by Cid Corman. Other important titles are Fut bâti (1973), Narration d'équilibre (1982-90: 9 volumes) and the prose series, La Condition d'infini (1995-97: 7 volumes, of which UNDER THE DOME is volume 5). A WOMAN WITH SEVERAL LIVES (Fence Books/La Presse, 2012) is his most recent collection.