Noa Noa: Voyage to Tahiti

36 pp, plus 47 pages of color plates. Gauguin's own account of his first visit to Tahiti remained unknown for many years. At last, in 1954, the manuscript was published in facsimile by Sagot-Le Garrec in Paris. The Postscript by Monsieur Loize explains its relation to the book, also called Noa Noa, which was published in 1901 under the two names of Paul Gauguin and Charles Morice. The "genuines version of Noa Noa by Gauguin unaided" is an important document--a painter putting down in words an experience that drew from him great paintings. It is also a beautiful piece of writing: amusing, acid, wide-eyed, moving. Gauguin feared that, unedited, it would seem absurdly crude; and no doubt it would have, to most readers in his day. But we want it as it is--its sketch form, jerky directness, authentic freshness. In translating it, one tries to keep out of the way: to change it into smooth English prose would be to slip back into the error or Charles Morice. Only, since the facsimile edition is there for reference, I have allowed myself some liberty with the punctuation, hoping to preserve the effect of the original yet make it, here and there, easier to follow. - Translator's Note