The significance of the title "Windstriche" (Rhumbs) had to be explained by Paul Valéry to his French readers when the book was published in the 1920s. The word originates from nautical terminology and, simply put, refers to the direction of winds from various regions of the world or the heavens. In "Windstriche," the directions that Paul Valéry set for himself and his contemporaries through his prose and reflections on poetry remain in the background. They serve as a backdrop against which deviations from the perfected, from abstract thinking, and from pure, absolute poetry stand out more clearly. Here, we encounter diary entries made during a journey, drawn as the mood strikes, along with moral reflections and underlying thoughts, as well as dreams, literary musings, and lyrical attempts. This book presents fragments of thought and gives them form.