For the spring issue of The High Window our resident artist, S.A. Leavesley has created Sunshine and Raindrops, a  photo-poem series inspired by French poet (and screenwriter) Jacques Prévert (1900-1977).

Here is Sarah’s own  brief introduction to what inspired her to create this work: My artistic-creative response involved a double translation and interpretation process. First, I created photographic images as a visual response to particular Prévert poems. Then I wrote short poems in response to these photos. The resulting four photo-poems here have more or less connectedness (be it through imagery, setting, emotion, atmosphere…) to the original inspiring lines from Prévert’s work.

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Lone Breakfast – response to ‘Déjeuner du matin’ (in English at http://xtream.online.fr/Prevert/despair.html, in French at http://xtream.online.fr/Prevert/desespoirs.html)

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Raindrops for Remembrance – response to ‘Barbara’ (in English at http://xtream.online.fr/Prevert/beauties.html , in French at http://xtream.online.fr/Prevert/beautes.html)

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Everything Changes – response to ‘Le paysage changeur’ (http://xtream.online.fr/Prevert/innocence.html)

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All the Endings – response to ‘Les feuilles mortes’ (lyrics in French at http://www.cyberus.ca/~rg/ch_p004.htm, one of many youtube uploads featuring the song can be found here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZA2x4Kd3fI&list=RDGZA2x4Kd3fI&start_radio=1)

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More about Jacques Prévert can also be found at The Poetry Foundation here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/jacques-prevert.

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