Charles Peguy (1873-1914) is a French poet and essayist, whom Pierre Manent refers to as "one of the most penetrating critics of the historical and sociological points of view which dominate modern consciousness." Praised by T.S. Eliot and Geoffrey Hill, among many others, Peguy's contemporary influence and importance has increased despite the infrequency with which readers find his work translated into English. As Roger Kimball remarks, Peguy was certainly "a creature of his time...[but] also a writer whose insights continue to resonate today" largely in part to Peguy's confrontation of modern hubris and his "rootedness in lived experience."
Kathleen Curran Sweeney provides the English reader with a much needed translation of Peguy's long poem,
Eve, first published in 1914. Considering Peguy's length and depth in
Eve and its syllabic poetic meter, this is not an easy undertaking. Yet Sweeney manages to convey an authentic Peguy in English and at last provides access to Christ's discourse with Eve, an epic encounter that conveys literary genius enthralled with memory, charity, and the transformation of this contemplation in light of the theological perspective of the Incarnation and the redemption of man by God.
