ABSTRACT
Jeanine Herman’s timely translation of the poetry and prose of Colette Laure Lucienne Peignot (1903-1938) coincides with a peak of anglophone academic interest in the work of Laure’s most famous lover, Georges Bataille. The Collected Writings spans genres including autobiography, poetry, pornographic, political and philosophical contemplation, and private correspondence, dating from Laure’s late teens to her last days. It also includes a lengthy biographical essay by Laure’s devoted nephew, the graphologist Jérôme Peignot; appendices and a potted biography by Bataille; and a piece on Bataille and the death of Laure by Marcel More. These fragments accumulate to provide a tantalizing picture of a woman passionately engaged with her times.
