One of 40 or 35 deluxe copies on vélin de Hollande van Gelder (nos. 34, 4 and 7).
“Respectively dated 1967, 1968 and 1969, Courir les rues, Battre la campagne and Fendre les flots number among Raymond Queneau’s last works, as Claude Debon recalls in her meticulous preface. Bringing these three poetry collections together in a single volume underscores both their individual character and the continuity that links them. In this trilogy, the light sketches of Courir les rues give way to the memories and questions of Battre la campagne, then to the more erudite poems of Fendre les flots; throughout, one finds the modesty, playfulness and craftsmanship of an author who always chose to work “on a small scale,” without ever giving up the effort to express himself and the world. Always discreet and often funny, this poetry conceals a moving and secret sensitivity and depth.”
Cantaloube-Ferrieu Lucienne, in Raymond Queneau, Courir les rues, Battre la campagne, Fendre les flots, preface by Claude Debon, 1980, in: Littératures 4, autumn 1981, p. 147.