Guy Gofete (born 18 April 1947) is a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

-born

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

and writer. Gofete published his first book of poems in 1969. Since then he has worked as an editor at the publishing company Gallimard. Gofete's poetry has been compared to

Verlaine Verlaine (; wa, Verlinne) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. On January 1, 2006, Verlaine had a total population of 3,507. The total area is 24.21 km2 which gives a population density Population d ...

(of whom Gofete has written a fictional "biography") - the contemporary French poet

Yves Bonnefoy Yves Jean Bonnefoy (24 June 1923, Tours – 1 July 2016 Paris) was a French poet and art historian. He also published a number of translations, most notably the plays of William Shakespeare which are considered among the best in French. He was pr ...

remarked

Gofete is an heir to Verlaine. A poet who very courageously has decided to remain faithful to his own personal life, in its humblest moments. He keeps things simple, he is marvelously able to capture the emotions and desires common to us all. Gofete is without question one of the best poets of the present moment in France.

Gofete's short fiction (récits) often reimagine historic figures - the poet

Paul Verlaine Paul-Marie Verlaine (; ; 30 March 1844 – 8 January 1896) was a French poet associated with the Symbolist movement and the Decadent movement. He is considered one of the greatest representatives of the '' fin de siècle'' in international and ...

in ''Verlaine d'ardoise et de pluie'' (1995) and again in ''L'autre Verlaine'' (2007) or the painter Pierre Bonnard through his muse Marthe in ''Elle, par bonheur et toujours nue'' (published in English as ''Forever Nude'' in 2008). For several years, the American

and critic

Marilyn Hacker Marilyn Hacker (born November 27, 1942) is an American poet, translator and critic. She is Professor of English emerita at the City College of New York. Her books of poetry include ''Presentation Piece'' (1974), which won the National Book Award, ...

has translated a number of his poems, which have appeared in

The Paris Review ''The Paris Review'' is a quarterly English-language literary magazine established in Paris in 1953 by Harold L. Humes, Peter Matthiessen, and George Plimpton. In its first five years, ''The Paris Review'' published works by Jack Kerouac, Phil ...

TriQuarterly ''TriQuarterly'' is a name shared by an American literary magazine and a series of books, both operating under the aegis of Northwestern University Press. The journal is published twice a year and features fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, liter ...

, Barrow Street, and

Poetry London ''Poetry London'' is a literary periodical based in London. Published three times a year, it features poems, reviews, and other articles. Profile Adopting the title of an earlier bimonthly publication which ran from 1939 to 1951, ''Poetry London' ...

. A bilingual anthology of her translations of Gofete's poetry, ''Charlestown Blues '', was published in 2007 by

University of Chicago Press The University of Chicago Press is the largest and one of the oldest university presses in the United States. It is operated by the University of Chicago and publishes a wide variety of academic titles, including ''The Chicago Manual of Style'', ...

In addition to his poetry and his fiction, Gofete is a prolific essayist and a critic who regularly contributes to the

Nouvelle Revue Française ''La Nouvelle Revue Française'' (; "The New French Review") is a literary magazine based in France. In France, it is often referred to as the ''NRF''. History and profile The magazine was founded in 1909 by a group of intellectuals including An ...

Awards

* 1989 Mallarmé prize for ''Eloge pour une cuisine de province'' * Grand Prix of the Académie française. * 2015 International Literary Award Novi Sad (

International Novi Sad Literature Festival The International Novi Sad Literature Festival (Serbian: Međunarodni književni festival) is a literary festival held annually in the city of Novi Sad, Serbia. It was founded by the Association of Writers of Vojvodina ( Serbian: Društvo književ ...

)

Selected poetry

* ''Quotidien rouge'', 1971. * ''Nomadie'', 1979. * ''Huit muses neuves et nues'', poems about the photographs by Miloslav Stibor, 1983. * ''Solo d'ombres'', 1983. * ''Prologue à une maison sans murs'', 1983. * ''Le dormeur près du toit'', 1983. * ''La vie promise'', 1991,(translations from the Italian "La vita promessa") * ''Le pêcheur d'eau'', Ed. Gallimard, Paris, 1995, coll. Blanche. Rééd. 2001. * ''Icarus'', (with a bilingual translation by Tucker Zimmerman, 2000. * ''Solo d'ombres précédé de Nomadie'', 2003. * ''L'adieu aux lisières'', 2007

Selected fiction

* ''Partance'', 1995. * ''Verlaine d'ardoise et de pluie'', 1996. * ''L'ami du jars'', 1997. * ''Elle, par bonheur et toujours nue'', 1998 published in English as ''Forever Nude'' in a translation by

Frank Wynne Frank Wynne (born 1962) is an Irish literary translator and writer. Born in County Sligo in the west of Ireland, he worked as a comics editor at Fleetway and later at comic magazine '' Deadline''. He worked for a time at AOL before becoming a ...

* ''Partance et autres lieux suivi de Nema problema'', 2000. * ''Un été autour du cou'', 2001. * ''Une enfance lingère'', 2006. * ''L'autre Verlaine, 2007.

Notes

*''Guy Gofete'',Sincère n°66,Dampicourt,1984 *Jaques BOREL - Sur les poètes(J.Stéfan,G.Gofete),Seyssel,Champ Vallon,1998. *Benît CONORT - ''Guy Gofete : Verlaine'',Le Nouveau Recueil n°40,Seyssel,Champ Vallon,1996. * Hédi Kaddour - ''Guy Gofete'',Poètes français, Paris,ADPF / Ministère des Affaires étrangères,2000. *John TAYLOR : ''Guy Fofferre: Exploring an Exclusive Promised Life'' France Magazine n°54,2000.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gofete, Guy 1947 births Belgian writers in French Living people Prix Valery Larbaud winners