Selected Writings of Paul Valery

Rating:
Summary: Symbolist brilliance
Review: When Valery was writing, the Symbolist movement had already died down, but he was nonetheless accurate in defining, describing, and practicing it. The essays contained in this edition are exquisite. The prose is probably the closest thing to Pater you'll find in French--despite Symons' declaration that the brothers Goncourt were the French Paterians, I found more of that in Valery than in the Goncourts. The poetry is also interesting, although to a lesser extent.

Rating:
Summary: Symbolist brilliance
Review: When Valery was writing, the Symbolist movement had already died down, but he was nonetheless accurate in defining, describing, and practicing it. The essays contained in this edition are exquisite. The prose is probably the closest thing to Pater you'll find in French--despite Symons' declaration that the brothers Goncourt were the French Paterians, I found more of that in Valery than in the Goncourts. The poetry is also interesting, although to a lesser extent.