Sardines à L'Huile (Sardines in Oil)

Georges Fourest

Georges Fourest was a French poet who lived from 1867 to 1945. This poem is from his first book, La Négresse Blonde, which was published in 1909. Here you may find my most liberal translation. I substituted "pale like Keats or Shelley" for "pâle comme un poitrinaire," for surely "poitrinaire" appears only because it sounds like "poisson." Keats died of tuberculosis (preserving meaning) while Shelley's name sounds nautical-- and Shelley died at sea.

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Intro - English - French - Trot

Animal Poetry

Translations by Ursula Whitcher, 2001