The Renée Vivien Cocktail Hour

Welcome to "'A l'heure des mains vides': The Renée Vivien Cocktail Hour." The aim of this series of monthly cocktails is to make getting to know the poetry of Renée Vivien (Pauline Mary Tarn, 1877-1909) a little more enjoyable.

"A l'heure des mains vides" (at the hour of empty hands) is a play on the title of one of Vivien's poetry books, A l'heure des mains jointes (at the hour of joined hands), originally published in 1905. But what if, instead of being able to join hands in person, you have empty hands? Then grab a glass, fix yourself a drink, and take a moment to read a poem (alone or with others). 

Monthly Cocktails

Each month, beginning with June (Pauline's birthday month), features a different drink and a thematically related poem (in the original French but with a rather literal English translation for Anglophones) along with a few comments on what is notable about the poem.