Eugène Guillevic

Eugène Guillevic (Carnac, Morbihan, France, August 5, 1907 Carnac – March 19, 1997 Paris) (French pronunciation: [øʒɛn ɡijəvik]) was one of the better known French poets of the second half of the 20th century. Professionally, he went under just the single name "Guillevic".

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Life

He was born in the rocky landscape and marine environment of Brittany. His father, a sailor, was a policeman and took him to Jeumont (Nord) in 1909, Saint-Jean-Brévelay (Morbihan) in 1912, and Ferrette (Haut-Rhin) in 1919.

After a BA in mathematics, he was placed by the exams of 1926, in the Administration of Registration (Alsace, Ardennes). Appointed in 1935 to Paris as senior editor at the Directorate General at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, he was assigned in 1942 to control the economy. He was from 1945 to 1947 in the Cabinets of Ministers Francis Billoux (National Economy) and Charles Tillon (Reconstruction). In 1947 after the ouster of Communist ministers, he returned to the Inspector General of Economics, where his work included studies of the economy and planning, until his retirement in 1967.[1]

He was a pre-war friend of Jean Follain, who introduced him to the "Sagresse" group. Then he belonged to the "School of Rochefort".

He was a practicing Catholic for about thirty years. He became a communist sympathizer during the Spanish Civil War, and in 1942 joined the Communist Party when he joined with Paul Éluard,[2] and participated in the publications of the underground press (Pierre Seghers, Jean Lescure).

His poetry is concise, straightforward as rock, rough and generous, but still suggestive. His poetry is also characterized by its rejection of metaphors, in that he prefers comparisons which he considered less misleading.

Awards

English Translation Works

French Works

Reedited Pocket Edition

References

External links

This article incorporates information from the revision as of 2010-01-21 of the equivalent article on the French Wikipedia.