Jacques Prévert
Jacques Prévert | |
---|---|
Born | Neuilly-sur-Seine, France | 4 February 1900
Died | 11 April 1977 Omonville-la-Petite, France | (aged 77)
Occupation | Poet, screenwriter |
Genre | Poetry |
Literary movement | Surrealism, symbolism |
Signature | |
Jacques Prévert (French: [ʒak pʁevɛʁ]; 4 February 1900 – 11 April 1977) was a French poet and screenwriter. His poems became and remain popular in the French-speaking world, particularly in schools. His best-regarded films formed part of the poetic realist movement, and include Les Enfants du Paradis (1945). He published his first book in 1946.
Life and education
Prévert was born in
He died of lung cancer in
Poetry
When Prévert was attending primary school, he at first hated writing. Later, he participated actively in the Surrealist movement.
Prévert's poems were collected and published in his books: Paroles (Words) (1946), Spectacle (1951), La Pluie et le beau temps (Rain and Good Weather) (1955), Histoires (Stories) (1963), Fatras (1971) and Choses et autres (Things and Others) (1973). His poems are often about life in Paris and life after the
Some of Prévert's poems, such as "Les feuilles mortes" ("
The British remix DJs Coldcut released their own version in 1993. Another German version has been published and covered by Didier Caesar (alias Dieter Kaiser), which he named "Das welke Laub". "Les feuilles mortes" also bookends Iggy Pop's 2009 album Préliminaires.
Prévert's poems are translated into many languages worldwide. Many translators have translated his poems into English. The poet and translator Suman Pokhrel has translated some of his poems into Nepali.
Films
Prévert wrote a number of screenplays for the film director
His poems were the basis for a film by the director and documentarian
Prévert had a long working relationship with
Bibliography
These include compilations of his poetry but also collaborations with Marc Chagall and Humanist photographers on patriotic and poignant albums of imagery of post-war Paris.
- Paroles (1946)
- Le Petit Lion, illustrated by Ylla (1947, reprinted 1984)
- Contes pour enfants pas sages (Tales for naughty children) (1947)
- Des Bêtes, illustrated by Ylla (1950, reprinted 1984)
- Spectacle (1951)
- Grand bal du printemps, with photographs by Izis Bidermanas (1951)
- Lettre des îles Baladar (Letter from the Baladar Islands) (1952)
- Tour de chant (1953)
- La pluie et le beau temps (Rain and sunshine) (1955)
- Histoires (Stories) (1963)
- Les Halles: L'Album du Coeur de Paris, with photographs by Romain Urhausen (Editions des Deux Mondes, 1963)
- Le Cirque d'Izis, with photographs by Izis Bidermanas and original artwork by Marc Chagall (André Sauret, 1965)
- JON WAY (1966)
- Charmes de Londres, with photographs by Izis Bidermanas (Editions de Monza, 1999)
Selected filmography
Prévert wrote the scenarios and sometimes the dialogue in the following films:
- Baleydier (1932)
- Ciboulette (1933)
- Hotel Free Exchange (1934)
- If I Were Boss (1934)
- Le Crime de monsieur Lange (1936)
- 27 Rue de la Paix(1936)
- Moutonnet (1936)
- Drôle de drame(1937)
- Quai des brumes(1938)
- Ernest the Rebel (1938)
- Les Disparus de Saint-Agil (1938) (fr)
- Le Jour se lève(1939)
- The Mysterious Mr. Davis (1939)
- Remorques(1941)
- Les Visiteurs du soir(1942)
- A Woman in the Night (1943)
- Summer Light (1943)
- Goodbye Leonard (1943)
- Les Enfants du paradis (1945)
- Les Portes de la nuit(1945)
- The Bellman (1945)
- Le Petit Soldat (The Little Soldier) (short animated film, 1947), with Paul Grimault, after The Steadfast Tin Soldier by Hans Christian Andersen
- Mystery Trip (1947)
- The Lovers of Verona (1949)
- La Bergère et le ramoneur(The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep) (animated film, 1953), with Paul Grimault after tale by Hans Christian Andersen, later revised and finished as Le Roi et l'oiseau
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1956)
- Le Petit Claus et le Grand Claus (fr), by Pierre Prévert, after the tale Little Claus and Big Claus by Hans Christian Andersen (live action and animation, 1964)
- Le diamant (The diamond) (short animated film, 1970), with Paul Grimault, complement to L'Aveu of Costa-Gavras
- Le Chien mélomane (The Music-Loving Dog) (short animated film, 1973), with Paul Grimault
- Le Roi et l'oiseau(animated film, 1980), with Paul Grimault
See also
- Prix Jacques Prévert du Scénario
- Le Monde's 100 Books of the Century, a list which includes Paroles
References
- ^ a b Encyclopedia of World Biography: Jacques Prévert
- ^ Jacques Prévert, PARIS THE BEAUTIFUL – The period of the Rue du Chateau
- ^ O'Shaughnessy, Martin (2000). Jean Renoir. Manchester University Press. p. 104.
- ^ Blakeway, Claire (1990). Jacques Prévert: Popular French Theatre and Cinema. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press. p. 140.
- ^ Kaplan, Alice (2013). Dreaming in French: The Paris Years of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, Susan Sontag, and Angela Davis. University of Chicago Press. p. 265.
- ^ The time of the cherry leaves, A site devoted to songs at the end of the Second Empire (in French)
- ^ 50 Greatest Foreign Language Films Total Film, The modern guide to movies
- ^ La Seine a rencontré Paris Archived 14 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine
External links
- Jacques Prévert at IMDb
- Jacques Prévert: Prévert's poetry in English.
- English translation of the poem «Barbara»
- Bibliographie nationale française audiovisuel
- Merrian, E., "Jacques Prévert, 1900–1977," New Republic. 9 July 1977. Retrieved 22 July 2013.