The act of writing always requires a certain ‘sacrifice of intellect'

The act of writing always requires a certain ‘sacrifice of intellect'

Poetry ultimately proved too narrow a form to accommodate the scope of his investigations. It was also somewhat corrupted by having to engage the public, with its mandate to instruct and entertain. Valéry's abandonment of poetry wasn't so much a choice as a donné, which came to him during a stormy night in Genoa in 1892: "A frightful night...my whole fate being played out in my head...between me and me." He would later liken the experience to a …