Apollinaire in the Great War, 1914-1918

Apollinaire in the Great War, 1914-1918 Book Description

Apollinaire in The Great War draws heavily on Apollinaire’s writings to tell the story of his war years, within the wider context of the French experience of the Great War. In this period, Apollinaire also wrote hundreds of letters, the bulk of them to two women: Louise de Coligny, a flighty socialite of aristocratic origin, and Madeleine Pagès, a young schoolteacher. In these letters he poured out his passionate feelings for both in often highly erotic poetry and prose, as well as giving detailed descriptions of his life as a front-line soldier. An unusual combination of intimate biography, military history and literary analysis, this major new work on Apollinaire is a vivid portrait of the artist – in the epicentre of Parisian Bohemia, in love and in the cauldron of war. -- From publisher's website.