The Mays of Ventadorn (National Geographic Directions)

Pulitzer-prize winning poet W.S. Merwin traces the origins of the troubadours in 12th century Provance as he relates his own experience as a frequent visitor to southern France in this striking memoir, for the National Geographic Directories series. W.S.Mervin, one of the century's great American poets, turns his lyrical eye to the legacy of the Troubadours of southern France. Merwin expertly tells the story of these medieval poets, artists whose songs have survived for centuries and have outlived the culture and even the language in which they were written. For Merwin, it is very personal exploration, as he shares with the reader his love of the French countryside and of the old fermhouse that became his home for decades. The rural society he sees as direct progeny of the almost mythical Troubadour culture serves as the story's romantic background.