Ballanche ou le traducteur caché

Ballanche attempted to reevaluate the institutions and beliefs of the earliest societies, beliefs that he considered, if not universal, at least beneficial for modern society where they were lacking. At the center of these institutions: poetic revelation and the figure of the visionary poet, who through the universality of his perspective could serve as the interpreter between different, successive societies. In contrast, Ballanche himself appears constrained to use a perspective that is both limited and partial to reconcile two opposing parts to a single epoch. His nostalgia for the former position of the poet is in opposition to his lucid acceptance of the impossibility to achieve it. (In French) (WRP)

Paulson, William R
Volume 1981 Spring-Summer; 9(3-4): 159-70.