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Leni ZumasLeni Zumas's writing crackles. Her books are sharp, bleak, funny, and possibly dangerous. When her collection of short stories, Farewell Navigator,... Continue »
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Mays of Ventadorn (National Geographic Directions)

by W S Merwin

Mays of Ventadorn (National Geographic Directions) Cover

 

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

W.S. Merwin, one of the great contemporary English-language poets, turns to prose here in a brilliantly evocative re-creation of a distant past—as well as an exquisite rendering of his own romance with an abandoned farmhouse in the magical countryside of Southwest France. The Mays of Ventadorn: Tales from Southwest France illuminates the origins of the famous 12th-century Provencal troubadours, beginning with the great Bernart de Ventadorn whose work Merwin first encountered as a young translator of the archaic language known as Old Occitan. The timeless beauty of the troubadours’ pastoral songs and narrative poems has enabled them to survive for 900 years, far outlasting the language from which they sprang.

As he reveals the lyrical pleasures in Southwest France’s medieval courts, Merwin also acquaints readers with the ruins of the chateau of Ventadorn, Bernart’s home, as well as the elegantly careworn farmhouse that the poet himself has owned for decades. Merwin brings a sense of historical continuity to his narrative as he writes of how the warm enchantments that distinguish the farmhouse, the local patois, and the area’s rural traditions are in many respects the direct progeny of the troubadours’ storied culture and language of old.

Synopsis:

Featuring works by some of the world's most prominent and highly regarded literary figures, Directions captures the spirit of travel and of place, bringing fresh perspective and renewed excitement to the art of travel writing.

Product Details

ISBN:
9780792265382
Author:
Merwin, W. S.
Author:
National Geographic Society
Author:
Merwin, W. S.
Publisher:
National Geographic Society
Location:
Washington, D.C.
Subject:
General
Subject:
Description and travel
Subject:
Europe - France
Subject:
American - General
Subject:
France
Subject:
Essays & Travelogues
Subject:
Troubadours
Subject:
Limousin
Subject:
Regional, Ethnic, Genre, Specific Subject
Subject:
General Travel
Subject:
Chãateau de Ventadour Site
Subject:
Travel
Subject:
Limousin (France) - Description and travel
Subject:
Travel Writing-General
Copyright:
Series:
National Geographic Directions
Series Volume:
10381
Publication Date:
June 2002
Binding:
Hardcover
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Y
Pages:
192
Dimensions:
5.96x4.06x.53 in. .55 lbs.

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Related Subjects

Fiction and Poetry » Poetry » A to Z
History and Social Science » Europe » France » Medieval and Renaissance
History and Social Science » World History » France » General
Humanities » Literary Criticism » General
Travel » Travel Writing » France
Travel » Travel Writing » General

Mays of Ventadorn (National Geographic Directions) Used Hardcover
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Product details 192 pages National Geographic Society - English 9780792265382 Reviews:
"Synopsis" by , Featuring works by some of the world's most prominent and highly regarded literary figures, Directions captures the spirit of travel and of place, bringing fresh perspective and renewed excitement to the art of travel writing.
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