CLICK PLAY BELOW TO LISTEN TO PARTS OF THE POEM THAT INSPIRED AND YOU, SEAS.
Et Vous, Mers / And You, Seas by Saint-John Perse
Saint-John Perse was the pseudonym of a French poet named Alexis Leger. In 1960, Perse won the Nobel Prize in Literature “for the soaring flight and the evocative imagery of his poetry which in a visionary fashion reflects the conditions of our time.” He published “Et Vous, Mers / And You, Seas” in 1950 after moving to the United States.
To read the entire poem in both French and English, visit poetryfoundation.org.