Yann-Ber Kallocʼh
Yann-Ber Kallocʼh (born Jean-Pierre Callocʼh in
Life
Yann-Ber Kallocʼh was born on the island of
He became tutor in various cities including Paris. During his compulsory military service, Yann-Ber made a point of teaching fellow Bretons to read and write in their own language. His earliest writings were in
At the same time, Kallocʼh's contribution to Breton literature was strengthened by his literacy and fluency in both Breton and French and his ability to mix and draw equally from both literatures and cultures.[3]
Beginning in 1912, Kallocʼh joined fellow Breton intellectuals
Brittia accordingly published Diberder's
At the same time, however, Kallocʼh was one of the ten Breton intellectuals who signed the May 1913 manifesto Aveit Breiz-Vihan / Pour la Bretagne ("For Brittany"). While expressing their fear of an impending European war, the signatories expressed their intention to be loyal to the
According to Ian Higgins, "When the war came, Callocʼh, like so many others, saw it as a defense of civilization and
On October 12, 1915, he wrote a letter to Achille Collin which became the basis for a 1919 petition in favor of Breton. In the same year, he mailed his war poetry to his friend Pierre Mocaer with instructions to publish the poems in the event that Kallocʼh was to be killed in the war. Of the poems he sent, only the poem Le P'tit Poilu de 1915, was written in French. All others were in the Vannes dialect of Breton. They became the basis for his final poetry collection.[8]
While serving as a Poilu, Yann-Ber Kallocʼh was reportedly a terrible foe to face in the trench warfare of the Western Front, as he wielded a sailor's axe formerly used in the French Navy for boarding enemy ships in hand to hand combat. His motto was "For God and Brittany". He was killed in action when a German shell landed near his dugout near Urvillers/Cerizy (Aisne) on April 10, 1917.[9] His body was returned to his native Groix for burial.
Legacy
His name appears in the
The Breton Scouting organization Bleimor is named in his honor and, in Brittany, at least six streets bear his name.[10]
The literary work which reveals Kallocʼh to be one of the greatest figures in Breton literature is his posthumous poetry collection, Ar en deulin (Kneeling), which was published by his friend Pierre Mocaer in 1925. The collection includes the famous poem Me 'zo Ganet kreiz ar e mor (I was born in the middle of the sea).[11]
In these poems composed in large part at the
According to Ian Higgins, "His pre-war poetry is either devotional, militantly Catholic or militantly Breton. These three strands are often spun into one. Callocʼh himself selected what he thought was the best of his work, and gave the manuscript, along with his own French translations of most of the poems. If he were killed, it was to be published, under the title Ar en deulin ("Kneeling"). (The book by L. Paulus contains further texts, including two short stories revealing a touch of humour one would not have expected from the author of Ar en deulin."[12]
According to Jelle Krol, "It is not merely a collection of poems by a major Breton poet: it is a symbol of homage to Yann-Ber Kallocʼh and all those Bretons whose creative powers were cut short by their untimely deaths. Breton literature from the trenches is very rare. Only Yann-Ber Kallocʼh's poems, some war notes written by Auguste Bocher, the memoirs recounted by Ambroise Harel and Loeiz Herrieu's letters addressed to his wife survived the war."[13]
In popular culture
- In her 2009 album Uam, Scottish vocalist and folk singer Julie Fowlis performed Kallocʼh's song Me 'zo Ganet kreiz ar e mor ("I was Born in the Middle of the Sea"). The lyrics were translated from the Breton language to Fowlis' native language of Scottish Gaelic.
Works
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References
- ^ Tim Cross (1988), The Lost Voices of World War I: An International Anthology of Writers, Poets, and Playwrights, page 270.
- ^ Cross (1988), page 270.
- ^ Edited by Christophe Declercq and Julian Walker (2021), Multilingual Environments in the Great War, Bloomsbury Publishing. Pages 84-86.
- ^ Jelle Krol (2020), Minority Language Writers in the Wake of World War One: A Case Study of Four European Authors, Palgrave. Page 228.
- ^ Jelle Krol (2020), Minority Language Writers in the Wake of World War One: A Case Study of Four European Authors, Palgrave. Page 228-229.
- ^ Jelle Krol (2020), Minority Language Writers in the Wake of World War One: A Case Study of Four European Authors, Palgrave. Page 229.
- ^ Tim Cross (1988), page 270.
- ^ Edited by Christophe Declercq and Julian Walker (2021), Multilingual Environments in the Great War, Bloomsbury Publishing. Pages 85.
- ^ Tim Cross (1988), page 271.
- ^ The names that have made the history of Brittany, 1997[clarification needed]
- ^ Callocʼh, Yan Ber (1888-1917) Auteur du texte (1935). Ar en deulin... : guerzenneu brehonek / I.-P. Kalloh (Bleimor) ; raglavar get J. Loth...
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Tim Cross (1988), page 270.
- ^ Jelle Krol (2020), Minority Language Writers in the Wake of World War One: A Case Study of Four European Authors, Palgrave. Page 229.
- Tim Cross (1989) The Lost Voices of World War I: an international anthology of writers, poets and playwrights. Iowa City: ISBN 0-7475-0276-5