Clovis Hugues (November 3, 1851 – June 11, 1907) was a French poet, journalist, dramatist, novelist, and

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

activist. He wrote some of his works in Provençal and un 1898 was elected a of the Félibrige, a society for the promotion of the

Occitan language Occitan (; ), also known by its native speakers as (; ), sometimes also referred to as Provençal, is a Romance language spoken in Southern France, Monaco, Italy's Occitan Valleys, as well as Spain's Val d'Aran in Catalonia; collectively, ...

and culture.

Life

Born in

Ménerbes Ménerbes (; ) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. The walled village on a hilltop in the Luberon mountains, foothills of the French Alps, constitutes the main settlement in t ...

(

Vaucluse Vaucluse (; or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019.

) to the family of a miller, he studied for the priesthood in

Carpentras Carpentras (, formerly ; Provençal dialect, Provençal Occitan language, Occitan: ''Carpentràs'' in classical norm or ''Carpentras'' in Mistralian norm; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the ...

, but did not take orders. For some articles favorable to the

Paris Commune The Paris Commune (, ) was a French revolutionary government that seized power in Paris on 18 March 1871 and controlled parts of the city until 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard (France), Nation ...

, published in the local papers of

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, he was condemned in 1871 to three years' imprisonment and a fine of 6,000

francs The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' ( King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th centur ...

. In 1877 he married the sculptor Jeanne Royannez (1851-1907). In 1877 he fought a

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people with matched weapons. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and later the small sword), but beginning in ...

in which he killed his adversary, a rival journalist. Elected deputy by Marseille in the general elections of 1881, he was at that time the sole representative of the

French Workers' Party The French Workers' Party (, POF) was the French socialist party created in 1880 by Jules Guesde and Paul Lafargue, Karl Marx's son-in-law (famous for having written '' The Right to Be Lazy'', which criticized work as such, criticizing heavily l ...

in the chambers. He was re-elected in 1885, and in 1893 became one of the deputies for

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, retaining his seat until 1906. He died in Paris. His poems, novels and comedies are full of wit and exuberant vitality.

Works

Poetry

*''Poèmes de prison'' (1875), written during his detention *''Soirs de bataille'' (1883) *''Jours de combat'' (1883) *''Le Travail'' (1889)

Novels

*''Madame Phaëton'' (1885) *''Monsieur le gendarme'' (1891)

Dramas

*''Une Étoile'' (1888) *''Le sommeil de Danton'' (1888)

References

* *Jean-Claude Izzo, ''Clovis Hugues, un rouge du Midi'', Éditions Jeanne Laffitte, 1978, 2001. *Gustave Kahn, ''Clovis Hugues'', H. Fabre,

, 1910.

External links

*
Full bibliography
(in Provençal).
''Ode au vagin'' - a 1901 erotic poem by Clovis Hughes
an 1884 poem by

Théodore de Banville Théodore Faullain de Banville (; 14 March 1823 – 13 March 1891) was a French poet and writer. His work was influential on the Symbolist movement in French literature in the late 19th century. Biography Banville was born in Moulins in Allier ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hugues, Clovis 1851 births 1907 deaths People from Vaucluse Politicians from Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur French Workers' Party politicians Members of the 3rd Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 4th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 6th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 7th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 8th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic 19th-century French journalists French male journalists 19th-century French novelists 20th-century French novelists Félibres French male poets French male novelists 19th-century French poets 19th-century French dramatists and playwrights 19th-century French male writers 20th-century French male writers