In the Glittering Maw

Mansour''s late poems chart constellations of desire, femininity, and dream. Considered by Andre Breton to be the preeminent Surrealist of the post-war period, Mansour brings this masculine movement into a feminine realm never-before-imagined. She insists on a forgotten or perhaps vehemently denied eventuality of women''s equality: their ability to do harm, to be violent: ''Why tear fire from the impalpable sky / When it already grows and smolders in me / Why throw your glove into the crowd / Tomorrow is a livid stump.'' In the Glittering Maw is poet C. Francis Fisher''s first published translation and includes a preface by eminent Surrealism scholar Mary Ann Caws.