Jacques Réda

In Jacques R?da: Being There, Almost, Aaron Prevots studies the work of this major contemporary French writer since the 1950s--poetry, novels, literary essays, short prose, jazz histories. He particularly examines R?da's explorations of place, including how the 'world's energy' becomes the ideal dancing partner, poetry incarnate in one's arms.

R?da embodies 'being there, almost' because he wanders with great wisdom yet renounces any glory in this metaphorical dance. He aligns us with the outer world's rhythms and time's passage. Fleeting waves of perception create a voluptuous, unified whole. In considering the arc of R?da's works from 1952-2015, Aaron Prevots locates a progression from post-Baudelairean fl?nerie to commemoration of childhood, classical antiquity, fellow writers, jazz, physics, swing, theology, and trains.