Monday 19 February, In the Vaucluse

In our attic room, looking out a very small window at a square containing the north side of the town of Caromb, neighbouring roofs, fields (olive trees) and in the distance to the south, the curved ridge-line of mountains. Sky blue and white (clouds). A mistral seems to be starting.

We arrived yesterday afternoon and are still settling in, greeting our next door neighbour in his adjoining house, family members, settled in this village. This morning I’ve been up to the village cafe-grocery store for supplies - knowing in advance that Monday morning is not a good day to find fresh supplies in most grocery stores, large or small. Found a few potatoes (sprouting), onions, garlic, two slices of ham cut for me (thinly) off the ham in the refrigerated case, one apple, four yoghurts. It will keep us going for 24 hours…

Now an hour to read about Philippe Jaccottet, the Swiss/French poet on the excellent literary website of a younger poet, Jean-Michel Maulpoix. I have been doing a few translations of Jaccottet’s ‘verse’ (as opposed to ‘prose’) poems. Maulpoix’s website has some excellent material, the sort of texts that come from the mind of one poet thinking about a somewhat older, but almost-contemporary poet. Jaccottet is becoming interesting to me for the stripped down nature of his poetic thought.