Charles Reznikoff's 'Testimony' Published in Full French Translation

The complete French translation of Charles Reznikoff's 'Testimony' (original title 'Testimony') has been published by P.O.L, translated by Marc Cholodenko. The subtitle is 'Les États-Unis (1885-1915)'. The work compiles tragicomic events from late 19th and early 20th century America, drawn from court records and legal documents. Reznikoff, born in Brooklyn in 1894, was a member of the Objectivist poets alongside Louis Zukofsky, George Oppen, and Carl Rakosi. The Objectivists, active in the 1930s, rejected metaphor and focused on describing American cities, following William Carlos Williams's dictum 'No ideas but in things'. Reznikoff's method involves 'naming, naming, always naming'. The book is structured as a 'récitatif', a genre that blends poetry and narrative, avoiding conventional novelistic form. It includes sections like 'Scènes de la vie privée' from 'Nord'. The translation brings to light hundreds of vivid lives and events, offering a unique reflection of America through irregular stanzas.