"Clair-Obscur of the Soul" by Jean-Yves Solinga, is a book of poetry by a poet of immense ability and range whose poetry collected in this book is truly remarkable. It contains many breathtakingly beautiful and sophisticated poems, which reach out to the very limits of the human condition, where true art exists. They are a product and symbolically reflect a life of cultural duality and a search for the cool plains of resolution with the past. He came from the "solar" heat of French Morocco to the "Labradorean" cold coastal waters and countryside of New England. His father, a gendarme, mother, sister and brother had gone through the tragic war years of occupation in Marseille, which would later become the topic of conversation at the dinner table. He was then transferred after WWII in 1946 to Sidi Bel Abbès where Jean-Yves was born in the hospital that serviced the Headquarters of the French Foreign Legion on the periphery of the Sahara in Algeria. The family traveled again with Jean-Yves only a month old, to Salé, just south of Sidi Moussa, in Morocco, where his father was posted. The journey was very difficult for the adults but Jean-Yves spent most of it comfortably sleeping on the garments in a suitcase. The family settled and Jean-Yves spent an idyllic childhood in the sun of North Africa. He attended French grammar and secondary schools. His memories of that time are of the joy of being aware of the pleasure of sight; the cocoon of the innocence of youth unconscious of geopolitical matters. His family, having decided to settle in America, sent Jean-Yves, at age 14, ahead alone in order not to miss the start of the school term. Living in New England he would experience first hand one of his many future encounters with the freezing cold and snow which up to that time had been seen on Christmas cards. A new and completely different life began. He had already written poetry by the time of his bachelor's degree and a brief tour of duty in the US Army after which he began a career teaching French Language, Culture and Literature in Connecticut schools and colleges. He completed a Masters and then a PhD on North Africa before retiring in 2004 at which time he earnestly concentrated on his writing. The title "Clair-obscur of the Soul" was chosen because it is indicative of this cultural duality, and many of the poems in this book draw you into a world of intellectual contrasts, where one reality is juxtaposed with another, that is simultaneously fascinating, unsettling and revelatory. As you read Jean-Yves' poems you are immediately aware that here is a previously unpublished poet with an effortless ability to use language, conveying myriad emotions, creating an ambience of mellifluous subtlety with immense depth from the very first poem. Jean-Yves' free prose style of poetry, which eschews more traditional forms, is not in the least affected or pretentious but rather it is immanent to his expansive vision and narrative voice as a poet. This is a remarkable book and debut from a poet who has lived through some of the important social upheavals of the late 20th century and writing from the depths of his soul. A book of poetry that must be read by all those interested in a singularly unique view of life that may redefine the capacity of poetry to be what it should be: the art of expressing pure thought about the existential human condition.

Clair-Obscur of the Soul

Literature & Fiction

Solinga, Jean-Yves

Poetry

Little Red Tree Publishing

<p>"Clair-obscur de l'âme" de Jean-Yves Solinga est un recueil de poèmes d'un écrivain d'immense talent et de variété et dont la poésie est vraiment remarquable. Elle contient des passages, d'une beauté et sophistication spectaculaires, qui vous transportent à la limite de la condition humaine où réside le vrai art. Cela est le résultat d'une vie qui reflète symboliquement la dualité d'une vie culturelle et la poursuite vers un paysage de résolution avec le passé. L'auteur commence dans la chaleur 'solaire' du Maroc pour aller vers le froid 'Labradorien' des côtes et du site de la Nouvelle Angleterre. Son père gendarme, sa mère, sa sœur et son frère avaient connu la tragédie des années d'occupation à Marseille qui deviendront plus tard le sujet de conversation autour de la table. La famille transférée après la guerre à Sidi Bel Abbès, Jean-Yves naquît à l'hôpital militaire de la Légion Étrangère à la périphérie du Sahara en Algérie. À la suite d'une nouvelle mutation, la famille voyagea une fois de plus avec Jean-Yves à l'âge d'un mois vers Salé au Maroc juste au sud de Sidi Moussa. Le voyage fut très difficile pour les adultes mais Jean-Yves le passa pour la majorité en dormant sur les vêtements d'une valise. La famille s'établit et Jean-Yves connut une jeunesse idyllique sous le soleil d'Afrique du Nord où il alla à l'école primaire et secondaire. Ses souvenirs de ces moments sont remplis de la joie de la vue parmi le cocon de l'innocence inconsciente éloignée des préoccupations géopolitiques. Ses parents ayant décidé d'émigrer en Amérique, Jean-Yves fut envoyé seul en avance à l'âge de 14 ans pour ne pas manquer le début de l'année scolaire. En Nouvelle Angleterre il ressenti directement ses premières sensations de froid et de neige qu'il n'avait connu jusqu'alors que sur les cartes de Noël. Une vie nouvelle et complètement différente commença. Ayant déjà écrit de la poésie avant ses études universitaires et après un bref service militaire dans l'armée américaine, il commença une carrière dans l'enseignement de la langue, culture et littérature française au niveau secondaire et universitaire. Il reçut une maîtrise suivi d'une thèse de doctorat sur le Maghreb avant de prendre sa retraite en 2004 quand il se consacra fermement à son œuvre. Le titre « Clair-obscur de l'âme » fut choisi pour indiquer cette dualité culturelle et un grand nombre de poèmes dans ce recueil vous attire dans un univers de contrastes intellectuels où une réalité juxtaposée sur une autre est à la fois simultanément fascinante, déroutante et révélatrice. En lisant les poèmes de Jean-Yves vous vous rendez compte immédiatement que vous avez devant vous un poète publié pour la première fois qui écrit avec une aise simple en utilisant la magie des mots pour créer de multiple émotions : formant une ambiance de nuances subtiles d'une immense profondeur dès le premier poème. Le style que Jean-Yves utilise est une prose lyrique qui évite les formes plus traditionnelles. Le fond, sans aucune prétention, trouve son ressort dans l'effusive vision et dans la voix du poète. C'est une œuvre d'exceptionnelle qualité d'un nouveau poète qui a vécu certains des plus importants bouleversements sociaux de la fin du vingtième siècle et qui écrit du fond de son âme. Un recueil de poésie qui doit être lu par tous ceux qui s'intéressent à une vision singulièrement unique de la vie. Une vision qui aide à redéfinir la facilité de la poésie d'être ce qu'elle devrait être: c'est-à-dire, l'art d'exprimer en pensée pure la condition concernant l'existence humaine.</p>

Clair-Obscur de L'Ame: En Marge de Sidi Moussa (French Edition)

"In the Shade of a Flower" is Jean-Yves Solinga's third book. It is not only a wonderful selection of poetry, with select French translations, but supported and contextualized by an extensive prologue and epilogue of previously unpublished essays called, "Multiple Realities." The essays explore Jean-Yves' core intellectual reasoning, beliefs and concepts that underpin this collection and define his philosophy as a writer, poet and artist. The poems in section I "Totems of the Universe" have a hard edge and are where Jean-Yves examines the "coexistence" of mankind in the midst of an inanimate Universe. "One, mankind, is aware, flashy and temporal, the other, stiff, uninterested and usually not interesting [outside of sunrises and sunsets] but seemingly immortal." By contrast, the poems in section II "Droplets of Time" are more ethereal and introspective. "Mankind may not win the battle against the "formidability" of things; but, in it, they may find themselves grabbing onto the pieces left in the present in order to find some survival, some comfort and hopefully remembrance." "In the Shade of a Flower," will live with you for a long time because it is in that delicate metaphorical shade we all at times seek shelter and sanctuary from the maelstrom of our own surd existence. It is also where the unique voice of a truly exceptional existential humanist poet, Jean-Yves Solinga, resides.

In the Shade of a Flower

"Impressions of Reality" is Jean-Yves' 6th book of poetry, and in the words of W.F. Lantry, “Jean-Yves Solinga embraces the world with clear-eyed enthusiasm. There is a kind of joy in these poems, tempered by hard-edged vision. The laughter of women, the art of ship building, music and philosophy, all find their natural place within Solinga’s lines. Solinga casts a cold eye on the past, and uses it as a prism for outlining an absolutely modern present. He manages to make the unraveling of complex knots simple, but doesn’t destroy them- he helps us understand how they’re woven. Even the death of Custer takes its place beside the heroism of the Maquisards. All their translucent fibers are woven into a cloth of the fragile past. In Solinga’s hands, grammar doesn’t simply transform speech; it transforms lives, and in doing so refashions the future. This is what poets do: He sees the whole edifice, details it, helps us understand, and convinces us it’s worthwhile. And it’s all done with the delicacy and beauty of interwoven lace. With the history of poetry and painting behind him, Solinga walks alone through the parallel columns of love and beauty, confident, dexterous, sure footed, almost dancing. His meanings are dappled, like the fields of Provence, like the slopes of Mt. Sainte Victoire. And yet the poems are splendidly fragile, surprising, simple and intricate at once. He’s disinclined to celebrate Pharaohs, instead he celebrates the workers who built the pyramids with their own hands, and left something of themselves in those long shadows. He values each moment, and sees eternity, not in an hour, but in a single second.”

Impressions of Reality

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Books by Solinga, Jean-Yves

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Solinga, Jean-Yves. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Clair-Obscur of the Soul

Clair-Obscur de L'Ame: En Marge de Sidi Moussa (French Edition)

In the Shade of a Flower

Impressions of Reality