Literary Nonfiction. Memoir. Translated from the French by Rosmarie Waldrop. An intimate portrait of Paul Celan in his last, increasingly dark years. Paul Celan and Jean Daive translate each other, walk, talk. Tensions, silences and, discreetly, Celan's crises and suicide. Autumn in Paris. Incessant walks under the dome of chestnut leaves. The Luxembourg Garden, the Square of the Contrescarpe. And, finally, the question: who are we, and how do we read the unreadable world?

Author Hometown: Paris FRA



About the author: 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).

Reviews:
Robert Glick in The Review of Contemporary Fiction
Robert Archambeau @ Samizdat Blog
John Steen @ The Oxonian Review
Gail Scott @ Jacket2