Jean Grosjean (born in Paris on 21 December 1912, died at
Versailles on 10 April 2006) was a
French poet, writer and translator.
Overview
After a childhood in the provinces, he became an engineering fitter. He entered the seminary of Saint Sulpice in
Issy-les-Moulineaux in 1933. After military service in
Lebanon he travelled throughout the Middle East, to Syria, Palestine, Egypt and Iraq. He was ordained as a priest in 1939, and then mobilized. Imprisoned in 1940, he met
André Malraux,
Claude Gallimard and
Roger Judrin during his captivity in
Pomerania and
Brandenburg, companions who remained close friends for the rest of his life.
It was in the "Metamorphoses" by
Jean Paulhan, published by Gallimard in 1946, that the first of his works appeared, 'Terre du temps ', a series of poetic notes. Remaining faithful to his publisher, he participated very actively in the life of the
Nouvelle Revue francaise with
Marcel Arland,
Dominique Aury and later
Georges Lambrichs.
In 1950, he left the priesthood, married and bought a property at
Avant-lès-Marcilly, in the
Aube, where he spent most of his time. He now found himself working mostly on translations of
Aeschylus and
Sophocles,
Shakespeare, the Koran and the Bible.
In 1989 he created, along with
Jean-Marie Le Clézio, the collection "L'Aube des peuples".
Works
Poetry
Terre du temps (Gallimard, 1946, prix de la Pléiade)
Hypostases (Gallimard, 1950)
Le Livre du Juste (Gallimard, 1952)
Fils de l'Homme (Gallimard, 1954, Prix Max Jacob)
Majestés et Passants (Gallimard, 1956)
Austrasie (Gallimard,1960)
Apocalypse (Gallimard, 1962)
Hiver (Gallimard, 1964)
Élégies (Gallimard, 1967, prix des Critiques) [also available in a translation by Keith Waldrop from paradigm press]
La Gloire, précédé de Apocalypse, Hiver et Élégies (Poésie/Gallimard, 1969)