Anna de Noailles
Anna de Noailles, born Anna Elisabeth de Brancovan in 1876, was a notable French poet and novelist of Romanian and Greek heritage. Raised in an affluent family in Paris and near Lake Geneva, her artistic upbringing was marked by a series of personal challenges, including the loss of her religious faith during her adolescence, which greatly influenced her poetry. In 1897, she married Count Mathieu de Noailles, and although she experienced a significant depression after the birth of her son, she began publishing her poetry, establishing herself as a unique voice in French literature. Her first collection, *Le Cour innombrable*, released in 1901, received enthusiastic praise and positioned her as a prominent figure in feminist and sensual poetry. Throughout her career, she garnered numerous accolades, including the Grand Prix de Littérature and becoming the first woman to achieve the rank of commander in the Legion of Honor. Despite her literary success, her personal life was tumultuous, including a separation from her husband due to a relationship with writer Maurice Barrès. As World War I unfolded and after experiencing profound personal losses, her poetry began to grapple with themes of death. Anna de Noailles passed away in Paris in 1933, leaving behind a significant literary legacy.
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Anna de Noailles
Writer
- Born: November 15, 1876
- Birthplace: Paris, France
- Died: April 30, 1933
- Place of death: Paris, France
Biography
Anna de Noailles was born Anna Elisabeth de Brancovan in 1876 in Paris. Her father was an expatriate Romanian prince, and her mother was a Greek princess and pianist. Along with her brother Constantin and her sister Hélène, Noailles was raised to a life of privilege in Paris and on the family estate near Lake Geneva. She was given an artistic education at home. In the course of a series of illnesses during her adolescence and deeply influenced by the writings of various philosophers, she lost her religious faith, an event which deeply affected her poetry. Her writing became the vehicle for her efforts to find meaning in a world adrift.
In 1897, she married Count Mathieu de Noailles, a member of a prominent family of French nobility. In 1900, following the birth of her son, Anne-Jules, she fell into a serious depression and was placed in a psychiatric hospital, where she suffered intense trauma. She had already begun to publish poems in literary journals. In 1901, she published her first book, Le Cour innombrable, a collection of poetry. Although she continued to use rhyme and meter, she broke away from traditional forms and the influence of past poets and began to find her own voice. The enthusiastic reception of the volume established Noailles’s reputation among French poets as a new voice for feminism and sensuality.
The books of poetry and fiction she published over the next two decades brought her recognition and a variety of honors. She was awarded the Grand Prix de Littérature by the Academie Française and was the first woman to be given the rank of commander in the Legion of Honor. Noailles and her husband separated in 1908 because of her relationship with another writer, Maurice Barrès. During the next years her writing was praised by a variety of public figures, including the poet Rainer Maria Rilke.
Noailles’s health began to fail after 1911. In response to World War I, she wrote some patriotic poems, although the idea of warfare was distasteful to one who had focused her themes on the importance of supporting life. In 1923, Noailles faced the deaths of several people who had been important to her, including her mother and Barrès. The result was a shift in her poetic themes, which now concerned themselves with death. She died in Paris in 1933.