The Mays of Ventadorn
by W. S. Merwin
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Pulitzer-prize winning poet W.S. Merwin traces the origins of the troubadours in 12th century Provance as he relates his own experience as a frequent visitor to southern France in this striking memoir, for the National Geographic Directories series. W.S.Mervin, one of the century's great American poets, turns his lyrical eye to the legacy of the Troubadours of southern France. Merwin expertly tells the story of these medieval poets, artists whose songs have survived for centuries and have show more outlived the culture and even the language in which they were written. For Merwin, it is very personal exploration, as he shares with the reader his love of the French countryside and of the old fermhouse that became his home for decades. The rural society he sees as direct progeny of the almost mythical Troubadour culture serves as the story's romantic background. show lessTags
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This is another of the National Geographic Directions series by the National Geographic Society. It is the eighth book in the series that I have read, and another great entry in the series.
I thought that this book would be about Italy because there was a beautiful picture of a Lute on the front cover. That just screamed Italian to me. However, this was not the case. This book is about 12th century troubadours. Specifically those in the southern part of France - the areas of Acquataine, Poitiers, Limousin, Dordagne, and Provence.
The author is a famous American poet. When he was very young he purchased a house in the Limousin area of France and spent part of each year there. He became an expert on the ancient local language that today is show more known as Occitan and began translating the works of Bernart de Ventadorn, one of the most famous of the troubadours who lived and worked in the court of Eleanor of Acquataine. The book is not so much about the place - Limousin, as it is a short history of the troubadours and the courts that supported their work. It was a very enjoyable book to read and made me even more curious about that area of France than I was before. I just have to visit there. I was disappointed to learn at the end of the book that the author now lives in Hawaii. I wonder why, when he could be living in the Limousin? show less
I thought that this book would be about Italy because there was a beautiful picture of a Lute on the front cover. That just screamed Italian to me. However, this was not the case. This book is about 12th century troubadours. Specifically those in the southern part of France - the areas of Acquataine, Poitiers, Limousin, Dordagne, and Provence.
The author is a famous American poet. When he was very young he purchased a house in the Limousin area of France and spent part of each year there. He became an expert on the ancient local language that today is show more known as Occitan and began translating the works of Bernart de Ventadorn, one of the most famous of the troubadours who lived and worked in the court of Eleanor of Acquataine. The book is not so much about the place - Limousin, as it is a short history of the troubadours and the courts that supported their work. It was a very enjoyable book to read and made me even more curious about that area of France than I was before. I just have to visit there. I was disappointed to learn at the end of the book that the author now lives in Hawaii. I wonder why, when he could be living in the Limousin? show less
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90+ Works 4,044 Members
W. S. Merwin was born William Stanley Merwin in New York City on September 30, 1927. He received a bachelor's degree from Princeton University in 1948 and did some graduate work there in Romance languages. He worked as a tutor and translator while writing poetry. In 1952, his first collection of poetry, A Mask for Janus, was awarded the Yale show more Younger Poets Prize. He wrote numerous collections of poetry including Green with Beasts, The Moving Target, The Lice, The Compass Flower, The Rain in the Trees, The River Sound, The Moon Before Morning, and Garden Time. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1971 for The Carrier of Ladders and in 2009 for The Shadow of Sirius, the National Book Award in 2005 for Migration: New and Selected Poems, and the Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize for The Vixen. He also published essays, short fiction, memoirs, and translations of Dante, Pablo Neruda, and Osip Mandelstam. Merwin's other works included Unframed Originals, The Lost Upland, The Ends of the Earth, and Summer Doorways. He also received the Bollingen Prize, the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, the PEN Translation Prize, the Shelley Memorial Award, the Tanning Prize and the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Writers' Award. He died on March 15, 2019 at the age of 91. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Mays of Ventadorn
- Original title
- The Mays of Ventadorn
- Original publication date
- 2002
- Dedication
- TO Margaret McElderry
- First words
- In the light between rains on a morning late in spring, the wooded hillsides, the squat stone farmhouses, the barnyards, and the tall, shell-grey, isolated ruins on the ridge appeared to be standing in a single shadow.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)A rather flimsy, anomalous wire fence and gate now protect what remains of the great citadel, but what the walls themselves once fostered and heard has gone everywhere.
Classifications
- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, Biography & Memoir, Literature Studies and Criticism
- DDC/MDS
- 818.5403 — Literature & rhetoric American literature in English American miscellaneous writings in English 20th Century 1945-1999 Diaries
- LCC
- DC611 .L732 .M47 — History of Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania France – Andorra – Monaco History of France Local history and description Regions, provinces, departments, etc., A-Z
- BISAC
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- Popularity
- 296,854
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (4.21)
- Languages
- Dutch, English, Japanese
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 3
- ASINs
- 1
