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Loading... Les chansons de Bilitis / Pervigilium Mortis, avec divers textes inédits (original 1894; edition 1997)by Pierre Louÿs, Jean-Paul Goujon (Editor)
Work InformationThe Songs of Bilitis by Pierre Louÿs (1894)
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These passionate verses were published in 1894 as the lost works of a disciple of Sappho. Although debunked as a work of antiquity, they remain an erotic celebration of sexual freedom. This hardcover edition features a translation from the original French edition, annotations, and more than 160 sensual illustrations by Willy Pogány. Contains adult material. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)841.8Literature French French poetry Later 19th century, 1848–1900LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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I’ve been aware of this and meaning to read it for decades. I really don’t know from where—I seem to remember it occasionally cropping up in vague references or allusions. I had no real idea what it was about, but it seemed to be something that some knowledgeable and respected writers had read, and I had vague ideas of eroticism and there were some misty and not really remembered connections with Anaïs Nin and James Joyce in the junk rooms of my memory. So I read it.
I have to admit that I started it with a certain amount of prejudice, knowing that Louÿs had created a, so to speak, forgery. To my surprise, though, I found the character, Bilitis, quite easy to believe in. Once I got my head away from expecting her to be a genuine ancient Greek, I found her story intriguing and, often, quite moving. I’m writing as a male, of course, and very aware that the words were actually written (and translated) by a male and I do wonder if a female would find her voice so genuine, but I really felt for her depictions of unrequited love and of growing old and losing her looks. Time has robbed the erotic bits of any shock value they may have had but I found them reasonably convincing and wasn’t overly aware of them as simply male-gaze titillation.
I thought it quite good and I am glad to have finally read it (though it will always be a minor niggle with me that a male wrote it—don’t really know how to get my head around that). ( )