Raymond RADIGUET – His vision of poetry and the use of free verse.

Raymond RADIGUET (1903.1923)

Autographed letter signed to Edouard Dujardin [?]

One page in quarto on paper with serrated edges.

No place. March 28, 1921.

"When one of my poems appears not to be written in verse, it is no less organized, nor more 'free' than a sonnet."

A very fine letter from Raymond Radiguet, in opposition to his correspondent, giving his opinion on the prosodic form of poetry and on the meaninglessness of the use of free verse: " How verses be free?"

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“Dear Sir, Marcel Sauvage having asked me for a poem for the “Idealist Notebooks” on your behalf, I gladly sent one. I could not have imagined the distinction you make between different prosodic forms. How verse be free? For me, when one of my poems seems not to be written in verse, it is no less organized, nor more “free” than a sonnet.”

I would be most grateful if you could send me back the "Sheepfold" that I intended for you. Please accept, dear sir, my best regards. Raymond Radiguet

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Bergerie is an octosyllabic poem dedicated to Georges Auric.

Created in February 1917 by Edouard Dujardin, Les Cahiers idéalistes français , a "review of literature, art and philosophy" with a pacifist vocation, offered in its first issue a Hymn to Peace by Caroline Rémy, known as Séverine.