Jean Joubert was born in 1928 in Châlette-sur-Loing (Loiret), France. He lived in Languedoc for a quarter century and taught American literature at the Université Paul Valéry at Montpellier. Joubert published novels and children’s stories, as well as poetry. His collection Poems: 1955–1975 (Grasset, 1975) was awarded the Prix Mallarmé in 1978.

In the Kitchen

by Jean Joubert, translated by Denise Levertov

The fire crackles in the kitchen range, and big dishev-
eled clouds of steam stick their faces up against the
window panes.

At the table, the child is writing. Leaning over him,
the father guides his wobbling hand. ‘Try!’ he says.
‘That’s better—that’s good.’ Then, ‘It’s late.’


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