PREVERT'S "PAROLES"

It is not difficult to imagine the poetry of Jacques Prevert scribbled on a napkin, or paper tablecloth, and abandoned in some Paris cafe.

This romantic notion has unfortunately led to Prevert being labeled as a 'surrealist clown' by many of his fellow poets, and his harshest critics. No doubt, a fine line exists between sentiment and sentimentality, and much of his poetry has suffered badly from atrocious translations and a rather trivial selection of work chosen for publication in anthologies and textbooks. Still, Prevert's observations on the human condition remain astute, and his poetic voice certainly speaks for our times.

Seven hundred thousand copies of 'Paroles' were printed when the collection was first released after World War II; the collection was a great success, and indeed had a huge impact on French youth at the time. Written during the French Occupation, 'Paroles' literally translates to 'words' in English - yet there is no question that the title is a double entrendre for 'passwords', which it also refers to in French.

At his best, Prevert simply shows his reader something and lets them draw their own conclusion; at his worst, he draws these pictures himself, often with too maudlin a touch, beginning beautifully with what the eye sees, before becoming unnecessarily cliched.

Born in 1900, Prevert left school to go and work at Le Bon Marche department store in Paris, before he was enlisted into military service in 1918.

He wrote numerous collections of poetry, along with many screenplays, his most famous being the 1945 film "Les Enfants du Paradis" ("The Children of Paradise"), which he collaborated with director Marcel Carne.

His cinematic eye never veered far from his poetry, and Prevert's oeuvre remains as alive and relevant today as it was over 50 years ago, when it was first written, scribbled on a napkin in  some Paris cafe.