Of Dandies

Jean-Paul Daoust's suite of prose poems Du dandysme contains a line sublime in its conveying of lassitude.

Le dandy est une diva dans l'opéra d'une vie inutile.

Easy enough to translate the beginning: "The Dandy is a diva" but the prepositions prove tricky and the temptation is is to resort to nouns posing as adjectives: "The Dandy is an opera diva" but how to approach the vowels of the end if not by recourse again to the noun as adjective: "The Dandy is a life opera diva" and so is almost reached that divine note of being condemned to no utilitarian purpose.

The Dandy is a purposeless life opera diva.

In the next line "Which seems essential" — either diva or life is meant: "Qui semble essentielle." And so the close reading via translation finds me asking after appearances.

And so for day 105
29.03.2007