Paul Éluard writes the preface to his first poetry anthology. 1947.

Paul Éluard (1895.1952)

Autograph manuscript signed.

One folio page on graph paper. [1947]

"I don't love myself, I love my loves; I don't impose them, but I defend them."

Superb manuscript, first draft, constituting the preface to the first poetic anthology published by Éluard in 1947 by Éditions Sagittaire: The best choice of poems is the one we make for ourselves – 1818-1918.

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To my friends

Are you all here? Aren't you fewer than I suppose, friends past, present, future, selfish or generous, just or unjust, ardent or devoid of affection, all masters of my heart through affection, consideration, and demands? All of you, for a moment, had—or will have—some of my tastes, I had—or will have—some of yours. But, most of the time, we are different. We follow parallel paths, but one is on the plain, the other in the mountains, one is hot and the other cold, one rests in the grass while the other enjoys the snow, one is adorned with a rose and the other with an agate. In the disorder of weariness and privilege, of goals and dead ends.

Yet, lacking a shared mirror, we exchange our portraits. Today, I offer you one of mine, the most welcoming, if not the most lifelike: the poems I have loved most . Give me yours, and we will compare our tastes, we will diminish our differences.

Since poetry professors are conceived but yet to be born, I distrust objective anthologies. Here, we are taught to die rather than to live, to hide rather than to reveal ourselves. But we are sensitive, and what is most alive for us, provided we proclaim it loudly, will become so for others.

Tell yourselves, my friends, that each of the poems in this varied book is one I would have passionately wanted to write. Above all, tell yourselves that I am never happy or proud except of what I love. I don't love myself, I love my loves; I don't impose them, but I defend them. Paul Éluard.