Faust: Part 1 - Paperback

by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (Author), Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (Author), Peter Sis (Illustrator)

Goethe's classic, enlivened by Randall Jarrell's fine translation and Peter Sís's dark, dreamy illustrations

Randall Jarrell's translation of Faust is one of his most important achievements. In 1957 he inscribed Goethe's motto on the first page of his notebook--"Ohne Hast aber ohne Rast" ("Without haste but without rest")--and from then until his death in 1965 he worked on the masterpiece of his "own favorite daemon, dear good great Goethe." His intent was to make the German poetry free, unrhymed poetry in English. He all but finished the job before he died, and the few lines that remained untouched--"Gretchen's Room"--were rendered into English by Robert Lowell.

This elegant new edition features numerous beautiful line drawings and jacket lettering by the renowned Czech artist Peter Sís, author of the award-winning books Starry Messenger: Galileo Galilei and Tibet: Through the Red Box.

Author Biography

Randall Jarrell, born in 1914 in Nashville, Tennessee, was a prolific poet, critic, and translator. At point one point, he served as Poet Laureate. His Complete Poems are available from FSG. He died in Chapel Hill, North Carolina in 1965.

Peter Sís is an internationally acclaimed artist and five-time winner of the New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Book of the Year Award. He is the author of Starry Mesenger, Madlenka's Dog, Three Golden Keys, Galileo Galilei and Tibet: Through the Red Box.