Alcools

A Dionysiac collection tinged with Rimbaldian lyricism, this landmark work strives to renew poetic writing. Originally entitled “Eau-de-vie,” Alcools explores a wide range of poetic registers, from elegy to free verse. While drawing on the traditions of lyric poetry — thwarted love, the passage of time, retellings of ancient myths — Apollinaire firmly roots the collection in the reality of the modern world. His fluid, spontaneous style disconcerted readers and critics on publication, particularly through its absence of punctuation, which he justified as follows: “I removed it only because it seemed useless to me, and indeed it is: the very rhythm and the cadence of the verses constitute true punctuation, and no other is needed” (letter to Henri Martineau).

A splendid copy bound by Pierre-Lucien Martin: a design of great elegance and flawless execution.