"Les Belles Images Poèmes" by René Maran Book Review (Checking Out a Book Related to Academic Interests, Class of 2028)

             As a History major and French minor, I love to peruse the francophone literature section of the AUC Woodruff Library when I'm bored. This is what led me to the poetry collection "Les Belles Images Poèmes" by René Maran, a black poet and activist from Martinique. Despite having never read Maran's writing before, I was pleasantly surprised at his balance of floral language and succinct ideas. For example, in this poem titled "À Mon Enfance," (which can be translated to "In My Childhood" in English), Maran describes his relationships with close friends back home as being the foundation for his core childhood memories. 

            My favorite quote is from the first page of this poem, and it reads "Sur la table accueillante à leurs pages froissées, / Nos livres ont fermé leurs ruches de pensées" (Maran, 11). In English, this can be translated to "On the welcoming table with their crumpled pages, / Our books have closed their hives of thoughts." This line shows the audience how intellectually driven the speaker's friend group was, while also making their favorite pastime activities like reading seem final, or a thing of the past. I was really inspired by the elaborate way Maran described simple activities like reading with friends; I would've never have thought to personify the books themselves to convey this same idea. I'm very excited to read more of Maran's work and improve my French to English translation skills in the future by continuing to check out French books from this section of the library.

- Alyssa Amaker