The Yale Anthology of Twentieth-Century French Poetry

Anne Hébert 1916–2000

quebec, canada

A

lthough Hébert is perhaps best known for her novels, she was an

extremely accomplished poet and playwright as well. Her cousin Hec-

tor de Saint-Denys was a preeminent Quebecois poet; through him

Hébert became acquainted with the literary circles in Quebec. Her first collection

of poems, Les Songes en équilibre (1942), was immediately popular. After her

cousin’s early death in 1943, Hébert became more interested in exploring themes

of escape from what she perceived as the stultifying weight of Quebecois society

and tradition. In the mid-1950s she left Quebec for Paris, though she died in

Montreal. Principal works: Le Tombeau des rois, 1953; Mystère de la parole, 1960;

Le Jour n’a d’égal que la nuit, 1994; Poèmes de la main gauche, 1997.

I Am Earth and Water

I am earth and water, you will not pass me, will not ford me, my friend, my
friend

I am the well and the thirst, you will not cross me without danger, my friend,
my friend

Noon exists to burst above the sea, flaunted sun, melted word, you were so
bright, my friend, my friend

You will not leave me wiping the shadow on your face like a transient wind,
my friend, my friend

Sorrow and hope beneath my burning roof, knotted tightly, learn these
strange old couplings, my friend, my friend

You flee these omens and press the pure number against your open hands, my
friend, my friend,

You speak out and intelligibly loud, I don’t know what deaf echo trails behind
you, hear, hear my black veins singing in the night, my friend, my friend