Joyce Mansour nee Joyce Patricia Adès, (25 July 1928 – 27 August 1986), was an Egyptian-French author, notable as a

surrealist Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to ...

poet. She became the best known surrealist female poet, author of 16 books of poetry, as well as a number of important prose and theatre pieces.

Biography

Mansour was born in Bowden in England, to a Syrian-Jewish family originally from Aleppo. and lived in Cheshire for a month before her parents moved the family to Cairo, Egypt. During her youth, Mansour excelled as a runner and a high jumper. She also competed in equestrian competitions. Mansour first came in contact with Parisian surrealism while still living in Cairo. She moved to Paris in 1953 at the age of 20. In 1947, her first marriage at the age of 19 ended after six months when her husband died. Her second marriage was to Samir Mansour in 1949 and they divided their time between Cairo and Paris. Mansour began to write in French. She died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

in Paris in 1986.

Career

Mansour’s first published collection of poems, titled: ''Cris'', was published in Paris in 1953 by Pierre Seghers. This collection of work references male and female

anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having it ...

in explicit language that was unusual for the time. Religious language can also be found. However, it is inverted, replacing what would be Christ with the lover. References of Egyptian mythology are also present in ''Cris.'' Mansour references the White Goddess as well as

Hathor Hathor ( egy, ḥwt-ḥr, lit=House of Horus, grc, Ἁθώρ , cop, ϩⲁⲑⲱⲣ, Meroitic: ) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion who played a wide variety of roles. As a sky deity, she was the mother or consort of the sk ...

. In 1954, Joyce Mansour became involved with the

movement after Jean-Louise Bédouin wrote a review praising ''Cris'' in ''Médium: Communication surréaliste'' that May. Joyce Mansour actively participated in the second wave of surrealism in Paris. Her apartment was a popular meeting place for members of the surrealist group. ''L'exécution du testament du Marquis de Sade,'' the performance piece by Jean Benoît took place in Mansour’s apartment. She collaborated with representatives such as

Pierre Alechinsky Pierre Alechinsky (born 19 October 1927) is a Belgian artist. He has lived and worked in France since 1951. His work is related to tachisme, abstract expressionism, and lyrical abstraction. Life Alechinsky was born in Schaerbeek. In 1944 he ...

Enrico Baj Enrico Baj (October 31, 1924 – June 15, 2003)June 15 according to the Guardian, June 17 according to the-artists.org was an Italian artist and writer on art. Many of his works show an obsession with nuclear war. He created prints, sculptur ...

Hans Bellmer Hans Bellmer (13 March 1902 – 24 February 1975) was a German artist, best known for the life-sized pubescent female dolls he produced in the mid-1930s. Historians of art and photography also consider him a Surrealist photographer. Biography B ...

, Gerardo Chávez, Jorge Camacho, Ted Joans,

Pierre Molinier Pierre Molinier (April 13, 1900 – March 3, 1976) was a French painter, photographer and "maker of objects". Biography and works Born in Agen, France, he lived his life in Bordeaux. He began his career as a painter of landscapes until his wo ...

, Reinhoud d'Haese and Max Walter Svanberg.

Work

Poetry

* « ''Cris''», Ed. Seghers, París, 1953 * « ''Déchirures''», Les Éditions de Minuit, París, 1955 * « ''Rapaces''», Ed. Seghers, París, 1960 * « ''Carré blanc''», Le Soleil Noir, París, 1966 * « ''Les Damnations''», Ed. Visat, París, 1967 * « ''Phallus et momies''», Éd. Daily Bul, 1969 * « ''Astres et désastres''», 1969 * « ''Anvil Flowers''», 1970 * « ''Prédelle Alechinsky à la ligne''», 1973 * « ''Pandemonium''», 1976 * « ''Faire signe au machiniste''», 1977 * « ''Sens interdits''», 1979 * « ''Le Grand Jamais''», 1981 * « ''Jasmin d'hiver''», 1982 * « ''Flammes immobiles''», 1985 * « ''Trous noirs''», Ed. La pierre d'Alun, Bruxelles, 1986 (illustrated by fundamental Peruvian painter Gerardo Chávez) * ''Emerald Wounds: Selected Poems'', published by City Lights Books. 7/11/2023. .

Prose

* « ''Les Gisants satisfaits''»,

Jean-Jacques Pauvert Jean-Jacques Pauvert (8 April 1926 – 27 September 2014) was a French publisher, notable for publishing the work of the Marquis de Sade in the early 1950s and as the first publisher of the '' Story of O'' (1954) and the first edition of Kenneth ...

, París, 1958 * « ''Jules César''», Éd. Pierre Seghers, París, 1956 * « ''Le Bleu des fonds''», Le Soleil Noir, París, 1968 * « ''Ça''», Le Soleil Noir, París, 1970 * « ''Histoires nocives''», Gallimard, París, 1973

Bibliography

* Marie-Francine Mansour, ''Une vie surréaliste, Joyce Mansour, complice d'André Breton'', France-Empire, 2014.

References

* Marie-Claire Barnet, ''La Femme cent sexes ou les genres communicants. Deharme, Mansour, Prassinos'', Peter Lang, 1998 * Jean-Louis Bédouin, ''Anthologie de la poésie surréaliste'', Éd. Pierre Seghers, Paris, 1983, p. 285 * Adam Biro & René Passeron, ''Dictionnaire général du surréalisme et de ses environs'', co-édition Office du livre, Fribourg (Suisse) et Presses universitaires de France, Paris, 1982 * Stéphanie Caron, ''Réinventer le lyrisme. Le surréalisme de Joyce Mansour'', Droz, Genève 2007. * Stéphanie Caron, « De la création comme (re)commencement. Petit aperçu sur la genèse des récits de Joyce Mansour : le cas "Napoléon" », in ''Pleine Marge'' n° 37, mai 2003 * Georgiana Colvile, ''Scandaleusement d'elles. Trente-quatre femmes surréalistes'', Jean-Michel Place, Paris, 1999, pp. 186–195. * Georgiana Colvile, « Joyce Mansour et "Les Gisants satisfaits", trente ans après », in ''Avant-Garde'' no 4, Rodopi, 1990. * Marco Conti, ''Joyce Mansour, l'eros senza fine'', ''Poesia'' no 127, Crocetti, 1999 *

Alain Marc Alain Marc (born 29 January 1957) is a member of the French Senate, who represents the department of Aveyron. He was elected to the Senate on 28 September 2014. Marc served in the National Assembly of France The National Assembly (french ...

, ''Écrire le cri, Sade, Bataille, Maïakovski...'', preface by Pierre Bourgeade, l'Écarlate, 2000 * J. H. Matthews, ''Joyce Mansour'', Rodopi, Amsterdam, 1985 * Marie-Laure Missir, ''Joyce Mansour, une étrange demoiselle'', Jean-Michel Place, Paris, 2005 * Richard Stamelman, ''Le Fauve parfum du plaisir, poésie et éros chez Joyce Mansour'', Lachenal & Ritter * Richard Stamelman, ''La Femme s'entête, la part du féminin dans le surréalisme'', Lachenal & Ritter "Pleine Marge", 1998 {{DEFAULTSORT:Mansour, Joyce 1928 births 1986 deaths 20th-century British poets Egyptian Jews Jewish poets Egyptian women poets Surrealist dramatists and playwrights Surrealist artists Women surrealist artists Surrealist writers Egyptian surrealist writers Surrealist poets British surrealist writers British surrealist artists British people of Syrian descent Egyptian people of Syrian descent Syrian poets French people of Syrian descent French people of Syrian-Jewish descent British women poets French surrealist writers