Saint-John Perse

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Saint-John Perse


Born
in Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe
May 31, 1887

Died
September 20, 1975

Genre

Influences
Andre Gide, Paul Valery, Igor Stravinsky, Nadia Boulanger


Works of French poet and diplomat Alexis Saint-Léger Léger under pen name of Saint-John Perse include Anabase (1924) and Chronique (1960); he won the Nobel Prize of 1960 for literature.

He came from an old Bourguignon family, which settled in the Antilles in the 17th century and returned at the end of the 19th century.

Perse studied law at Bordeaux and, after private studies in political science, went into the service in 1914. A brilliant career ensued. He served first in the embassy at Peking. People published his work chiefly under the pseudonyms. After various reflections on the impressions of his childhood, he wrote in China. An epic puzzled many critics and gave rise to the suggestion that an Asian ably understands it better th
...more

Average rating: 3.81 · 1,158 ratings · 150 reviews · 88 distinct worksSimilar authors
Anabasis: The 1960 Nobel La...

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3.88 avg rating — 387 ratings — published 1924 — 53 editions
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Amers, suivi de Oiseaux et ...

3.70 avg rating — 159 ratings — published 1957 — 2 editions
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Éloges suivi de Gloire des ...

3.43 avg rating — 112 ratings — published 1953
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Éloges and Other Poems

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3.94 avg rating — 84 ratings — published 1911 — 19 editions
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Vents suivi de Chronique

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3.91 avg rating — 65 ratings — published 1946 — 9 editions
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Selected Poems

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3.80 avg rating — 60 ratings — published 1982 — 3 editions
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Collected Poems

4.26 avg rating — 50 ratings — published 1971 — 18 editions
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Exile and Other Poems

3.37 avg rating — 41 ratings — published 1953 — 21 editions
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Birds

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4.20 avg rating — 30 ratings — published 1994 — 22 editions
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Canto Para Un Equinoccio

really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 11 ratings — published 1971 — 10 editions
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More books by Saint-John Perse…
Quotes by Saint-John Perse  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“And it is enough for the poet to be the guilty conscience of his time.”
St John Perse

“...Hiver bouclé comme un bison, Hiver crispé
comme la mousse de crin blanc,
Hiver aux puits d'arsenic rouge, aux poches d'huile
et de bitume,
Hiver au goût de skunk et de carabe fumée de bois de hickory,
Hiver aux prismes et aux critaux dans les carrefours de diamant noir,
Hiver sans thyrses ni flambeaux, Hiver sans roses ni piscines,
Hiver ! Hiver! tes pommes de cèdre de vieux fer!
tes fruits de pierre! tes insectes de cuivre !”
Saint-John Perse, Vents suivi de Chronique

“J'avais, j'avais ce goût de vivre chez les hommes, et voici que la terre exhale son âme d'étrangère...”
Saint-John Perse

Polls

295344
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  4 votes, 0.8%

 
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  1 vote, 0.2%

 
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  1 vote, 0.2%

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  1 vote, 0.2%

 
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  1 vote, 0.2%

 
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  0 votes, 0.0%

 
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