Rene Char s "Hypnos" is both a document of unique importance in the history of the French Resistance and a classic of modern European literature. Based on a journal Char kept during his time in the Maquis, it is composed of short prose fragments which range from abrupt and sometimes enigmatic meditations in which the poet seeks out his metaphysical and moral compass bearings in the darkness of occupied France, to narrative descriptions which throw into stark relief the dramatic and often tragic nature of the moral issues he had to confront as the head of his Resistance cell. A tribute to the individual men and women who fought at his side, the book is also a celebration of the white magic of poetry and of the power of beauty to combat terror and to transform our lives.
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