New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1988. Hardcover. Book fine, Dust jacket fine.. Annotations by Pierre Chanel. Translated from the French by Richard Howard.

Synopsis

Jean Cocteau delighted in shocking the world. In pubic, at least, the image he presented was one of great daring -- a man eager to defy, willing to experiment, ready to challenge. Cocteau's achievements in almost every artistic medium -- including poetry, film, illustration, criticism, and ballet -- rightfully earned him a reputation for radical versatility. He assumed Oscar Wilde's role as "world's most dazzling talker" and Thomas DeQuincey's as "world's most conspicuous opium addict"; he drew depictions of his bouts in the all-male brothels of Toulon; he created the actor Jean Marais and the chanteuse Edith Piaf. But among Cocteau's many accomplishments was one composition protected by the private man: his diary. Recorded during the last 13 years of his life, Cocteau's diary was kept a secret until 1983. this first of six projected volumes reveals Cocteau's life from 1951 to 1953. In it, he makes asides about Picasso, writes Oedipus rex, admires Stalin, travels through Europe, and engages in gross generalizations about Americans. With line drawings from Cocteau's original journal, Past Tense is a literary event -- a window into Cocteau's life and creativity as he wanted them to be remembered.

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Details

Bookseller: James & Mary Laurie Booksellers (A.B.A.A.) (US)
Bookseller's Inventory #: 9005267
Title: Past Tense: The Cocteau Diaries Volume Two
Author: Cocteau, Jean
Format/Binding: Hardcover
Book Condition: Used - Book fine, Dust jacket fine.
Quantity Available: 1
ISBN 10: 0151712913
ISBN 13: 9780151712915
Publisher: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
Place of Publication: New York
Date Published: 1988

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Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:

Jacket: Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
Fine: A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...