Renée Vivien Quotes

Renée Vivien , was a British poet who wrote in French, in the style of the Symbolistes and the Parnassiens. A high-profile lesbian in the Paris of the Belle Époque, she was as notable for her lifestyle as for her work, which has received more attention following a recent revival of interest in Sapphic verse. Many of her poems are autobiographical, reflecting a life of extreme hedonism, leading to early death. She was the subject of a pen-portrait by her friend Colette. Wikipedia  

✵ 11. June 1877 – 18. November 1909
Renée Vivien photo
Renée Vivien: 8   quotes 1   like

Famous Renée Vivien Quotes

“Just once in my life a man tried to embrace me. It was horrible! He had big boots, a heavy belt, huge gloves. Faugh! Oh, let's not talk about men.”

Quoted in Mercure de France, I-XII (1953), trans. Jeannette H. Foster (1977)

“Goddess who delights in the ruin of the rose,
Prolong the night!”

Déesse à qui plaît la ruine des roses,
Prolonge la nuit !
Prolonge la Nuit http://www.reneevivien.com/evocations.html#feuilles (Prolong the Night), trans. Margaret Porter
Évocations http://www.reneevivien.com/evocations.html (1903)

“[Charles Brun] was so charming that I always write to him as "My dear Charlotte!"”

Quoted in Mercure de France, I-XII (1953), trans. Jeannette H. Foster (1977)

“Men smell of leather. … The leather of huntsmen, furniture movers, porters.”

Quoted in Mercure de France, I-XII (1953), trans. Jeannette H. Foster (1977)

“Under the sun the summer grasses fade.
The rose, expiring after the harsh ravage
Of the heat, languishes toward the shade.
Sleep drips from the foliage.”

L’herbe de l’été pâlit sous le soleil.
La rose, expirant sous les âpres ravages
Des chaleurs, languit vers l’ombre, et le sommeil
Coule des feuillages.
La fraîcheur se glisse http://www.reneevivien.com/sapho.html#fraicheur (Coolness glides...), trans. Margaret Porter (1977)
Sapho http://www.reneevivien.com/sapho.html (1903)

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