This Radiant Life (excerpt)
before there’s blood there’s waterthe burning desire to walktogetheron the Mountainspontaneouslyour sexesseparatedcalled uponwristschosenour palmsrichthe hoursour throatson equal footingthe mirrorour embodied plenitudea frame of treesthe light it’s major our hearts take form before our hemispheres so it is with our connection we have no need to speak life is long beautifulwe have a wallagainst whichthe sky’s the sameunique in living lovethe inside in reversethe aira treefor exampleVa slownessprimordialattractionFeat the heartof the EarthI don’t knowbeforefrom where from which meteorites haut up bas down dessous bottom dessus top we are not alonewe standin packsmagnetstwenty-fiveCharm, Strangewe vibrateour lettersthe irisesthe stringstenindivisibleour namesour bustswithout hierarchyphotonsintermediariesin transitiontwothreethe immensecanyondense and tenderKrfrom the GreekhiddenHegas and rare earthsnoblebedrockthe flanksthe branchesthe armsthe length of bodiesexposednearly inertframedwe move everything moves our gangues the snow the clouds it’s a region?
La vie radieuse
avant que ce soit du sang c’est de l’eaul’envie immédiate de marcherensemblesur la montagnespontanémentnos sexesséparésappeléspoignetschoisisnos paumesrichesles heuresnos gorgesde plain-piedle miroirprégnance de nos corps à corpsle cadrage sur les arbresla lumière c’est majeur la formation de nos coeurs précède celle de nos hémisphères il en va ainsi de notre lien nous n’avons pas besoin de parler la vie est longue beautifulnous avons un murcontre lequelle ciel est le mêmeunique en vivant l’amourl’envers de l’intérieurl’airun arbrepar exempleVde la lenteurprimordialel’attractionFeau coeurde la Terrej’ignoreavantd’où de quels météorites up down bottom top nous ne sommes pas seulsnous nous tenonsen paquetsaimantsvingt-cinqCharm, Strangenous vibronsnos lettresles irisles cordesdixindivisiblesnos nombresnos bustessans hiérarchiephotonsintermédiairesen transitiondeuxtroisl’immensecanyondense et tendreKrdu greccachéHegaz et terres raresnoblesroches mèresles flancsles branchesles brasle long des corpsexposéspratiquement inertescadrésnous bougeons tout bouge nos gangues la neige les nuages est-ce une région ?
Feature Date
- March 7, 2022
Series
- Translation, What Sparks Poetry
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From This Radiant Life, original French text
© 2016 by Chantal Neveu and La Peuplade, English translation © 2020 by Erín Moure.
Used with permission of Book*hug Press.
© Laurence Grandbois Bernard / La Peuplade
Chantal Neveu is a francophone writer from Québec Canada. She is the author of six books of poetry: you, La vie radieuse, coït, mentale (La Peuplade), Une spectaculaire influence (l’Hexagone) et èdres (É=É), and has created numerous interdisciplinary literary works presented in Canada and abroad. Her books translated into English are all published by Book*hug Press : This Radiant Life by Erín Moure (Winner of the 2021 Governor General’s Literary Award for Translation, Winner of the 2021 Nelson Ball Prize), A Spectacular Influence by Nathanaël, and Coït by Angela Carr. Neveu lives in Montreal.
E. Sampedrín
Erín Moure is poet and translator who translates poetry from French, Galician, Portunhol, Portuguese, Spanish, and Ukrainian (with Roman Ivashkiv) into English. Her most recent works are a translation from Galician of Chus Pato’s latest book, The Face of the Quartzes (Veliz Books, 2021) and a chapbook, Retooling for a Figurative Life (Vallum, 2021). Her translation of Quebec poet Chantal Neveu’s This Radiant Life (Book*hug Press, 2020) was awarded the 2021 Governor General’s Literary Award for French to English translation. More at erinmoure.mystrikingly.com.
"This Radiant Life strikes a resonant chord with its sparse minimalism. This indexical poetry records private activities, travels, daily living, details the body’s nervous system alongside sudden explosions of brutal events and media frameworks. A capacity for complexity through elliptical building blocks. Violence side by side with train journeys. Collective brutality side by side with personal intimacy or physiological flow."
—Caroline Bergvall
". . . This Radiant Life entreats us to slow down, attend to, and cherish the elemental. In so doing, we will have access to an inexhaustible force for resistance and resilience; we will be able to truly see and be seen by others. Powerfully embodied and chiselled by Chantal Neveu and deftly and intricately translated by Erín Moure, This Radiant Life is urgent, alive, and absolutely present."
—Oana Avasilichioaei
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