Francois Villon’s The Legacy & The Testament

Louis Simpson’s translation of Francois Villon’s The Legacy & The Testament has achieved the impossible, as Simpson has created the definitive translation of the life work of France’s greatest poet of the 15th century. Abandoned by his parents at an early age and raised by a foster father, later imprisoned, chained and tortured, somehow Villon survived to write one of the most enduring epics ever.

Louis Simpson, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in poetry, is the author of several books of poetry and criticism. He has received a number of prestigious awards throughout his career, including the Prix de Rome, fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, and the Columbia Medal for Excellence. Louis Simpson lives in Setauket, New York.