Léon-Paul Fargue
Léon-Paul Fargue was a notable French poet and essayist born in Paris in 1876. His childhood was tumultuous, leading him to develop a strong sense of independence, which later influenced his artistic pursuits. Fargue studied at Rollin College and the College de Sailly, where he became immersed in literature, music, and painting. His first major poem, "Tancrede," published in 1895, marked the beginning of his literary career, and he became a prominent figure in the vibrant artistic community of Montmartre, mingling with celebrated contemporaries like Maurice Ravel and André Gide.
Throughout his life, Fargue was involved in various literary ventures, including founding the review Commerce and contributing to La Nouvelle Revue Francaise. His accolades include receiving Le Prix de la Renaissance in 1932 and being appointed to the Academie Mallarme in 1937. Fargue's most recognized work, "Le Pieton de Paris," was published in 1939, showcasing his keen observations of Parisian life. Despite facing personal challenges, including a debilitating health issue later in life, Fargue remained a significant literary figure until his death in 1947. His contributions to poetry and culture reflect a deep engagement with the artistic currents of his time.
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Subject Terms
Léon-Paul Fargue
Poet
- Born: March 4, 1876
- Birthplace: Paris, France
- Died: November 24, 1947
- Place of death: France
Biography
Léon-Paul Fargue was born in Paris in 1876. He had a difficult childhood: His was an irregular family, and the young Fargue was often left to his own devices. Fargue went on to study at Rollin College and the College de Sailly. As a student he was drawn not only to literature but to music and to painting. His choice seemed to have been signaled by the publication of his first major poem “Tancrede” in 1895. His prodigious memory, his quickness of mind, and his gifts as observer—as well, one guesses, as his oft-noted good looks—made him popular in literary salons. He also became a frequenter of the artistic underworld of Montmartre and of the Cabaret du Chat Noir, where he spent time with such artists as Stephane Mallarme, Paul Valery, André Gide and Édouard Vuillard.
In or around 1900, he was drawn into the musical sphere in the company of Ricardo Vines and Maurice Ravel. These gentlemen were among a few other artists who made up the famous band of “Apaches d’Auteuel.” (The were drawn to the name “Apaches”—which signified, to them, “hooligans.”) During this decade he published little, though he did participate in the debut of La Nouvelle Revue Francaise. His first book, Tancrede, bearing the name of that significant poem, was in 1911, and his second, Poemes, in 1912. His famous and lifelong friend Maurice Ravel dedicated a movement of his Miroirs “Noctuelles,” to Fargue—the title refers to a line of one of the Fargue’s poems. Later, in 1927, Ravel set one of Fargue’s poems, “Reves,” to music. And, much later, in 1949, Fargue’s affectionate record of his recollections of his friend in Maurice Ravel was published.
With Francois Jourdain and Maurice Tourneur, Fargue was instrumental in the creation of the review La Croisade, and with Alfred Jarry, a friend from boyhood, he created L’Art litteraire. He founded and directed the prestigious review Commerce with Paul Valery and then Jean Paulhan. His own poems had been published in neosymbolist reviews before they were published as collected works. (An opponent of the Surrealists, Fargue became a member of the Symbolist poetry circle connected with Le Mercure de France.) As a part of his military service, Fargue traveled to Leon in 1914. Here, in the company of bookseller Adrienne Monnier and his friends Jean Cocteau and Erik Satie, he resumed his writing career in earnest. After three years, he returned to Paris.
In 1932 Fargue received Le Prix de la Renaissance for D’Apres Paris. In 1937 he was appointed to the Academie Mallarme, and he also became a member of the Academie Ronsard. In 1939 he published his best-known work, Le Pieton de Paris, (the pedestrian of Paris). Around this time he also met his future wife, the painter Cherianne. (Fargue did not marry until he was sixty years old.) In 1941 he published Haut solitude, sometimes considered his major poetic work. Two years later, while dining with yet another famous artist, Pablo Picasso, he had an attack, diagnosed as hemiplegia, that left him paralyzed. The Gran Prix de la Ville de Paris was bestowed upon him in 1946. In 1947, Fargue, poet, essayist, and chronicler of life in Paris in the early twentieth century, died at seventy-one years of age.