FORT (Paul). Long Live the Fatherland! - Lot 102

FORT (Paul). Long Live the Fatherland! Definitive edition of *Ballades françaises* and *Chroniques de France*, Vol. XIII. Foreword by Georges Duhamel of the Académie française. Paris, Flammarion, 1949. In-8, paperback, cover printed in blue and green, untrimmed. First edition, previously unpublished. Thirteenth volume of the definitive edition of *French Ballads and Chronicles of France*. The collection brings together Paul Fort’s regional ballads: those from Orléans, Nantes, Tours, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Morvan, and Nièvre; those from Vivarais and Dauphiné; from Bagnères, Limoux, Béziers, and Languedoc; from Roussillon, the Ardennes, Flanders, Audomarois, and Boulogne. One of the copies reserved for the Groupe des Amis de Paul Fort, this one bearing the number A.P.F. 737, printed on rag paper from the Papeteries de Lana. The print run on this paper comprises 912 copies, of which 882 were intended for the Friends of Paul Fort Group. A precious copy enhanced by a beautiful autographed dedication signed by Paul Fort to Mrs. Macloud: “These Songs of France, with warmest regards from the old troubadour, to Mrs. Macloud. Paul Fort What is Poetry? — A song that is spoken. March 1950. ” This statement, a true poetic creed, aptly sums up Paul Fort’s highly personal conception of poetry—one situated at the boundary between verse and prose, designed to preserve the rhythm and musicality of speech. Copy preserved in its original publisher’s brochure, with a typographic cover bearing the inscription “Pur fil.” Some slight foxing and signs of wear on the cover, minor wear on the headbands and corners; interior well-preserved. A beautiful copy, particularly desirable for its extensive autograph dedication and handwritten definition of poetry.