The Yale Anthology of Twentieth-Century French Poetry

OLIVIER CADIOT

We quicken the sleeping waters shaken

Over there. Presence enfolds its salt voices

In the distant flame the fraternal poem.

—mary ann caws

Olivier Cadiot 1956–

paris, france

I

n addition to poetry and novels, Cadiot has written librettos and plays. He

cofounded the Revue de littérature générale with fellow poet Pierre Alféri.

Like Alféri, he has also worked extensively with the musician Rodolphe

Burger, their joint performances uniting poetry and music. Cadiot’s operatic

work includes a libretto for Pascal Dusapin’s Romeo and Juliet (1989). His play

Soeurs et frères (1993) was directed by Ludovic Lagarde, who has also directed

plays by Bertolt Brecht and Anton Chekhov. Principal works: Rouge, vert & noir,

1989; Futur, ancien, fugitif, 1993; Mes dix photos préférées, 1994; Le Colonel des

Zouaves, 1997; Art Poetic, 1999; Retour définitif et durable de l’être aimé, 2002.

Why I Became a Saint

Under a tree, I’d constructed a rough shed made of planks in which I’d put a table
and a rope bed to use when I came to work in the summer. As it faced the main
canal running down to the lake, I could keep an eye on the fishing lines dropped
in at the precise point where the fresh water meets the salt water and supports a
species of white eel whose young I captured and raised.

More sky
more rain
I stayed there to watch then to work to survey the canal which ran in a ring
around the tree the water spiraling and I could see the fish turning around the
lines.