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Paul Valéry's Cahiers/Notebooks. Volume I. Editor in chief Brian Stimpson, Assoc. ed. Paul Gifford, Robert Pickering. Transi, by Paul Gifford ... from the French Cahiers éd. by Judith Robinson-Valéry. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 2000. Pp.654. ISBN: 3-631-34881-9
Paul Valéry's Cahiers/Notebooks. Volume II. Edited in chief Brian Stimpson, Assoc. ed. Paul Gifford, Robert Pickering. Transi, by Paul Gifford ... from the French Cahiers éd. by Judith Robinson-Valéry. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 2000. Pp.594. ISBN: 3-631-36763-5
The originality of Valéry's Notebooks, characterized by its translators as "an attempt to explore all forms of knowledge and creativity in terms of the inner dynamics of the Self," is best revealed by the poet himself:
My great work, seems to have been, from the Notebooks, the search for expression of everything through observation of myself. I-without name-I, simple negation-(Not-1). (QXXV, 466)
While starting the review of the first two volumes of Valéry's Notebooks, a translation of his Cahiers, my first concern is the language in which I should write it. The fact that the Notebooks are a translation primarily intended for English readers does not strike me as a determining factor here. Indeed this translation makes Valéry's Cahiers available to non-French readers, but it also brings new resonances and a fresh perspective to Valéry studies. For this reason, I would like to make my recommendation in French as well, given that scholars and students who usually work in the original text might ignore this important publication. It is a well-known fact that with all translations, something is gained, something is lost. While non-French readers will easily understand what their gain is, my hope is to bring forth examples in which the English translation of the Cahiers, in tune with the original, proves to be an important addition to understanding Valéry's thought, leading to a greater appreciation and knowledge of the poet's seminal work.
Indeed, the Notebooks are an invaluable tool for French speaking scholars of Valéry as well: the translators regrouped texts that had never been assembled in the past, which allows new readings and creative observations. Recent translations also reflect the latest developments and research in the field of Valéry studies. As stated at the beginning of the first volume of the Notebooks, the term Cahiers denotes...