The Yale Anthology of Twentieth-Century French Poetry

GUY GOFFETTE

Close by the river Sorgue
A woman said
I’ve got a small notebook with a list of my dead friends
When I feel like
Opening it
Each word
The expression of a whole life
One of them calls out to me

Why do women call out
More often than men
The word is the name of the place we’re speaking from
—serge gavronsky

Guy Go√ette 1947–

jamoigne, belgium

G

o√ette, a poet, literary critic, and editor, has always followed his

idiosyncratic interest in a wide range of pursuits. Between 1980 and

1987 he published the review Triangle with a group of fellow poets.

Since 1983 he has directed the publishing house L’Apprentypographe, which is

dedicated to publishing small handmade books by authors such as Umberto Saba

and Michel Butor. Go√ette has contributed to the Nouvelle revue française and

has translated a comprehensive collection of African American music, including

the blues and gospel. He is currently an editor at Gallimard. Principal works:

Éloges pour une cuisine de province, 1988; Mariana, Portugaise, 1991; La Vie pro-

mise, 1991; Le Pêcheur d’eau, 1995; Verlaine d’ardoise et de pluie, 1996; L’Ami du

jars, 1997; Elle, par bonheur, et toujours nue, 1998; Partance et autres lieux, 2000;

Un manteau de fortune: Poèmes, 2001.