Xavier Grall (1930–1981) was a journalist and poet from

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, who was a strong advocate of Breton nationalism during the Third Emsav. His work glorifies a mystical Brittany.

Early career

Xavier Grall was born in

Landivisiau Landivisiau (; br, Landivizio) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France. The journalist Luc Le Vaillant, winner of the 1998 Albert Londres Prize was born in Landivisiau. Landivisiau is twinned with Bideford ...

Finistère Finistère (, ; br, Penn-ar-Bed ) is a department of France in the extreme west of Brittany. In 2019, it had a population of 915,090.

, but moved to Paris. He worked as a journalist for Catholic publications, including the journals '' La Vie catholique'', of which he was editor, and ''Témoignage chrétien''. He also wrote for ''

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

'' and ''Bretagne''.

Bretonism

Grall rediscovered his Breton identity in the 1970s, leaving Paris permanently in 1973, returning to Brittany to live at Bossulan Farm in Nizon, just outside Pont-Aven. Grall's reassertion of Breton identity followed a period of disillusionment with France following the

Algerian War The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...

. He later wrote that the war undermined his belief in the idea of France:

I had done the Algerian War, in the wolfish sun my eyes were opened. Heartbreaking revelation. From Djebel Amour n Algeriato Montagnes Noires
n Brittany N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...
there were similarities. Same tyrant: the French state. Same victim: the peasant. Same cops: CRS .... When we saw France torture, we could not put that song on the level to which we'd been lulled .... The image of France that I had formed, very high and almost mystical, found itself forever tarnished.

In response he defined himself as Breton in opposition to French identity:

You discover Bretonness as it is not allowed to be. ... And you think that your country does exist, dear God, terribly. You recover. You look straight ahead. You are decolonized. You are Berber, Kabyle, Breton.

From this point on his work emphasises a multicultural ideal, building a unique example of Breton literature in French.

Activism

With his friends Alain Guel and the

protest singer A protest song is a song that is associated with a movement for social change and hence part of the broader category of ''topical'' songs (or songs connected to current events). It may be folk, classical, or commercial in genre. Among social mov ...

Glenmor, he founded ''éditions Kelenn'', where he published ''Barde imaginé'' (1968), ''Keltia Blues'' (1971), ''La Fête de la nuit'' (1972) and ''Rires et pleurs de l'Aven'' (1978). Alain Guel, who followed his early steps in literature, and kept up a voluminous correspondence with him, gave him support and friendship throughout his life. Reconnecting with his past as a columnist, Grall published ''Le Cheval couché'' (the lounging horse), a scathing response to Pierre-Jakez Hélias's popular autobiographical novel ''Cheval d'orgueil'' (Horse of Pride), which he called "fossilized folkism". He also vilified earlier Breton poets and singers, notably Theodore Botrel, whom he described as the creator of a "pitiable" image of Brittany born "from the depths of his idiocy". Botrel later expressed regret for having written the book. Grall continued to work from a distance for ''Le Monde'' and ''La Vie catholique''. He published pamphlets and occasional pieces; ''Le Billet d'Olivier'' presented his passions and his moods on current topics. He also wrote essays on

François Mauriac François Charles Mauriac (, oc, Francés Carles Mauriac; 11 October 1885 – 1 September 1970) was a French novelist, dramatist, critic, poet, and journalist, a member of the'' Académie française'' (from 1933), and laureate of the Nobel Prize ...

James Dean James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931September 30, 1955) was an American actor. He is remembered as a cultural icon of teenage disillusionment and social estrangement, as expressed in the title of his most celebrated film, '' Rebel Without a Caus ...

and others. In the early 1970s, Grall founded the Breton separatist newspaper ''Le Nation bretonne'' with Alain Guel and Glenmor, where he published lyrics under the pseudonym of "Saint HERBOTS", among others. He died in Quimperlé in 1981.

Commemorations

A bronze sculpture to his memory stands on the Promenade Xavier Grall, on the banks of the river Aven in Pont-Aven. Each year in Carhaix a ''Festival des Vieilles Charrues'' bears his name. A literary prize was created in his name at the ''Festival de la Parole Poétique'' (Pays de Quimperlé). ''Le Prix Xavier-Grall'' is awarded to a poet for his life's work. Recipients have included: * Jean-Paul Kermarrec in 2006. * Jacqueline Saint-Jean in 2007 * Marie-Josée Christien in 2009 *

Alain Jégou Alain may refer to: People * Alain (given name), common given name, including list of persons and fictional characters with the name * Alain (surname) * "Alain", a pseudonym for cartoonist Daniel Brustlein * Alain, a standard author abbreviation u ...

in 2008 * Pierre Colin in 2010

Publications

*''

et notre jeunesse'', 1958 *''Mauriac journaliste'', 1960 *''La génération du Djebel'', 1962 *''Africa blues'', 1962 *''Cantiques à Mélilla'', 1964 *''Le rituel breton'', 1965 *''Barde imaginé'', Éditions KELENN, 1968 *''Keltia Blues'', Éditions KELENN, 1971 *'' Glenmor'', 1972 *''La fête de la nuit'', Éditions KELENN, 1972 *''Rires et pleurs de l'Aven'', Éditions KELENN, 1978 *''La Sône des pluies et des tombes'', Éditions Kelenn 1976 *''Le Cheval couché'', 1977 *''Stèle pour Lamennais'', 1978 *''Entendras-tu le vent chanter dans le grand chêne ?'', 1979 *''Si loin de toi, Tristan…'', 1979 *''Arthur Rimbaud, la marche au soleil'', 1980 *''Solo et autres poèmes'', 1981 *''Genèse et derniers poèmes'', 1982 *''La marche des calvaires'' *''Les vents m'ont dit'', 1982 *''Et parlez-moi de la terre...'', 1983 *''L'Inconnu me dévore'', Calligrammes, 1984 *''Les billets d'Olivier'', éditions Calligrammes, 1985 *''Chroniques de l'Indien I et II'', 1995 et 1996 *''Mémoires de ronces et de galets'', 2002. Textes donnés à la revue

Sav Breizh SAV may refer to: * SAV Creation, designers of the 1995 Rollin video game * SAV Studios, London, England, where Easy Cure recorded * Spektrum Akademischer Verlag, a former German publisher later known as Springer Spektrum * Stormartillerivagn m ...

An Here An, AN, aN, or an may refer to: Businesses and organizations * Airlinair (IATA airline code AN) * Alleanza Nazionale, a former political party in Italy * AnimeNEXT, an annual anime convention located in New Jersey * Anime North, a Canadian a ...

. 2002 *''Au nom du père''. Recueil de textes parus dans La Vie

. 2003, 486 p. *''Œuvre Poétique'', éditions Rougerie, 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Grall, Xavier 1930 births 1981 deaths People from Finistère Writers from Brittany 20th-century French poets French male poets 20th-century French male writers