A Throw of the Dice: The Life of Stephane Mallarme [Hardcover]

Gordan Millan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1994

One of the most influential French poets of the last hundred years, Mallarme is known as the Father of Symbolism and defender of the Impressionists. The first biography of this seminal figure in Modernism in 50 years draws on unpublished correspondence and new documentation to humanize this elusive figure. Photos.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Beset by financial worries and insomnia, Symbolist poet Mallarme (1842-1898), while teaching in the French provinces, came to define his artistic quest as a constantly changing continuum between being and non-being. Returning to his birthplace, Paris, in 1871, he sought to make art a spiritual vehicle and as such a substitute for religion. This notably perceptive biography replaces the popular image of the obscure aesthete with a portrait of a committed artist torn between the conflicting claims of his poetry and his family. A professor of French studies in Scotland, Millan views Mallarme's life as a series of gambles, from his decision to marry his uneducated German mistress, Marie Gerhard, to his rejection of the Catholic faith and his experimental prose and verse. Millan's literal translations of Mallarme's poems, interspersed throughout the narrative, have surprising power. Photos.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

As a leading figure of the Symbolist movement in France during the second half of the 19th century, Mallarme believed in the mysteriousness of poetry and the sanctity of its words. In his early literary essays he stated that the power of poetry is in the suggestions of its images and that the ultimate goal of writing poetry is the creation of poetic language. His poetic vintage indeed was often dubbed obscure, and he was himself regarded as the symbol of eccentricity by many of his contemporaries. After a difficult debut, he had a boost thanks to his introduction to the public by Paul Verlaine in Poetes maudits and especially by Joris Karl Huysman in A rebours. Mallarme's main work, L'Apres-midi d'un faune, was considered the "most skillful poem" in French by Paul Valery. Millan (French, Univ. of Strathclyde), editor of the definitive critical edition of Mallarme's work, set out to explain many aspects of Mallarme's life and to "correct distortions." Both goals are met successfully, to varying degrees. Highly recommended for literary collections.
Ali Houissa, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, N.Y.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 389 pages
• Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux (T) (August 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374277079
• ISBN-13: 978-0374277079
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.1 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,284,398 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars i would not buy this again, October 15, 2008

By 

Tayter Bill (lexington, ky) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: A Throw of the Dice: The Life of Stephane Mallarme (Hardcover)

very big fan of the poetry but as far as lit biographies this is the most boring one I have ever read, i have had the book on my self for years and still have not finished it.

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent introduction to Mallarme's life, July 12, 1998

By 

Alexander Moore - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Throw of the Dice: The Life of Stephane Mallarme (Hardcover)

Quite an enjoyable read, Millan's book also presents us with a neutral account of his subject's life, which makes this biography all the more interesting and stimulating. Although some may feel a few things are missing, such as details into Herodiade and parts of Mallarme's literary theory, or more examples of Mallarme's interactions with other major writers of his century apart from his closest friends, this biography deserves the attention of anyone considering taking focused interest in Mallarme, or XIXth century French poetry in general.