Autograph letter signed by René Char of 11 lines written in black ink.
Folds inherent to the mailing.
René Char wrote this letter to René Wintzen, editor-in-chief of the magazine Documents from 1929 to 1931. René Wintzen then began to publish a literary magazine, Vent debout , from which he sent Char a copy. The poet encourages him and tells him to persevere while "discriminating the wheat from the chaff . " René Char apologizes for not having a finished text to provide: "I regret it. I write little and am only an accessory poet! ".
This highlighting of a rare writing corresponds to René Char's idea of poetry and opposes the work advocated by Valéry. René Char writes little and submits to the demands of poetry: "I never cheat. I have spent six months waiting for a word or a formula [...]. This is the requirement of poetry. An absolute requirement. No words are free. (Interview between René Char and Édith Mora, Nouvelles littéraires , 1965).
The author also shows a distancing from poetry at the end of the decade. In fact, Char experimented with new genres: he tried ballet with La Conjuration in April 1947, but also at the theater with Le Soleil des eaux , music with Boulez, and finally with the cinema. However, he never leaves poetry and publishes the same year Poem sprayed .
Char's modesty as to his status as a poet expresses the artist's subjection to the demand for poetry.
