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English
David Zwirner
01 August 2019
Series: Ekphrasis
"28 Paradises

is a rare book: it reveals not only the individual talents of

the authors, Modiano and Zehrfuss, but also the depth of the couple's

creative union. Sensitively translated into English for the first time by

Damion Searls,

28 Paradises

captures the exquisite sadness of waking

from a beautiful dream. There are twenty-eight dreams in this book, or

perhaps one dream in twenty-eight parts-visions of paradise imagined

by Zehrfuss during a time of deep sadness. Captured first in Zehrfuss's

brightly colored gouaches, each paradise was then refashioned as a

poem by Modiano.

Zehrfuss's paintings are Edens in miniature, and rather than describe

them outright, Modiano dreams himself into these reveries in quiet,

understated verse. The reader enters this shared realm in an experience

less like paging through a book and more like slipping into a shared world.

These paradises are wishes for moments when a painting, or a poem,

or a lover-perhaps they are not so different-relieves the loneliness

of being human. As Modiano writes with a touch of wistfulness, ""The

Lilliputian painted her paradises / And I / Next to her / Wrote a poem.""

A pure example of ekphrastic writing-poetry inspired by paintings- this book shows how writing and visual art can together create a unique

emotional experience.

First published by Editions de l'Olivier/ Le Seuil in 2005"

By:   ,
Imprint:   David Zwirner
Country of Publication:   United States
Dimensions:   Height: 177mm,  Width: 105mm, 
Weight:   70g
ISBN:   9781644230022
ISBN 10:   164423002X
Series:   Ekphrasis
Pages:   80
Publication Date:  
Audience:   General/trade ,  ELT Advanced
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active

Patrick Modiano spent his childhood between Paris, Haute-Savoie, and Jouy-en- Josas. Having been awarded his baccalaureate, he dedicated himself to literature at the age of eighteen. It was Raymond Queneau who introduced to him the literary circles of Paris in the 1960s. He won the Grand Prix du roman de l'Academie francaise in 1972 and the Prix Goncourt in 1978. In 2014, his oeuvre was crowned with the Nobel Prize in Literature. Dominique Zehrfuss is an illustrator and jewelry designer living in Paris. After studying architecture at Ecole des Beaux-Art in Paris, she began to paint. Quickly, however, illustrating children's books took over her imagination. She has illustrated three books written by Patrick Modiano, titled Une aventure de Choura (1986), Une fiancee pour Choura (1987), and 28 Paradis (2005). Damion Searls is an American translator and writer. He has translated forty books from German, French, Norwegian, and Dutch, including Patrick Modiano's novels Young Once (2016) and Sundays in August (2017). David Zwirner Books's ekphrasis series also includes his translation of Rainer Maria Rilke's Letters to a Young Painter (2017). His own writing has been translated into ten languages.

Reviews for 28 Paradises

"""A tiny, highbrow volume for the beach, or reveries of it: poems in the nostalgic, laconic manner of novelist Modiano, 2014 Nobel laureate, and crisp, lovely, pastel hued miniatures by his wife Zehrfuss, jewellery designer and illustrator.""--Jackie Wullschläger ""Financial Times"" ""28 Paradises is the marriage of prose and painting... it is a rare book that reveals not only the individual talents of the authors but also the depth of the couple's creative union.""--Staff ""Books on Show"" With 28 Paradies ""the ekphrasis series takes an exciting step away from the realm of the academic and historical towards a more humble space occupied by poetry and art... it's an unassuming and thrilling work, a little treasure to be shelved among giants.""--Jeff Alford ""Run Spot Run"""


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