French
French may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France
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Arts and media
* The French (band), ...
poet, novelist, dramatist and translator. Siméon's publications have been awarded various national and international poetry prizes. His poetry and theater works are translated into around fifteen languages. In 2024 Siméon became the third French poet to win the Golden Wreath Award (
Struga Poetry Evenings
Struga Poetry Evenings (SPE) (, СВП; tr. ''Struški večeri na poezijata'', ''SVP'') is an international poetry festival held annually in Struga, North Macedonia. During the several decades of its existence, the Festival has awarded its most ...
Award) after
Eugène Guillevic
Eugène Guillevic (Carnac, Morbihan, France, August 5, 1907 Carnac – March 19, 1997 Paris) () was a French poet. Professionally, he went by the single name ''Guillevic''.
Life
He was born in the rocky landscape and marine environment of B ...
and
Yves Bonnefoy
Yves Jean Bonnefoy (24 June 1923, Tours – 1 July 2016, Paris) was a French poet and art historian. He also published a number of translations, most notably the plays of William Shakespeare which are considered among the best in French. He was a ...
.
Life and career
Jean-Pierre Siméon was born in
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 ...
(France) in May 1950.
His mother, Denise, was a teacher and his father, Roger, made a career in the national education administration and became head of publications at the
University of Clermont-Ferrand
The University of Clermont-Ferrand was officially founded in 1896, by merging of two existing faculties (Literature and Sciences) and a medical school.
In 1976, due to political issues, the University split between University Clermont-Ferrand I - ...
where the family settled in 1962. He studied literature at the University of Clermont-Ferrand and became a teacher.
In 1977, with his father and a group of poets from
Auvergne
Auvergne (; ; or ) is a cultural region in central France.
As of 2016 Auvergne is no longer an administrative division of France. It is generally regarded as conterminous with the land area of the historical Province of Auvergne, which was dis ...
, he was one of the founders of the ''ARPA'' magazine, of which he was director. He was the founder of Semaine de la poésie (“Poetry Week”) in Clermont-Ferrand in 1987. He began writing for ''
L'Humanité
(; ) is a French daily newspaper. It was previously an organisation of the SFIO, ''de facto'', and thereafter of the French Communist Party (PCF), and maintains links to the party. Its slogan is "In an ideal world, would not exist."
History ...
'' in the 90's. From 2001 to 2017 he was the art director of “Printemps des poètes” (The Spring of Poets). From 2001 to 2019 he was an associate poet of the
Théâtre National Populaire
The (; "People's National Theater") is a theatre now at Villeurbanne, France. It was founded in 1920 by Firmin Gémier in Paris.
Today, the TNP has a company of ten resident actors and the building is currently being completely renovated.
His ...
in
Villeurbanne
Villeurbanne (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Metropolis of Lyon in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France.
It is situated northeast of Lyon, with which it forms the heart of the second-largest metropolitan area in France ...
. He met Carolyn Carlson, whose poems he translated and with whom he created several poetry events based on his own texts or those of Carolyn Carlson.
Jean-Pierre Siméon has taught at the University Institute for Teachers Training (IUFM), the National School of Theatre Arts and Techniques (ENSATT), and the Institute for Political Sciences.
He lives in
Clermont-Ferrand
Clermont-Ferrand (, , ; or simply ; ) is a city and Communes of France, commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions of France, region, with a population of 147,284 (2020). Its metropolitan area () had 504,157 inhabitants at the 2018 ...
and continues to write. He is the director of the
Éditions Gallimard
Éditions Gallimard (), formerly Éditions de la Nouvelle Revue Française (1911–1919) and Librairie Gallimard (1919–1961), is one of the leading French book publishers. In 2003, it and its subsidiaries published 1,418 titles.
Founded by G ...
Poetry collection since 2018.
Tributes
The library of
Saint-Brice-en-Coglès
Saint-Brice-en-Coglès (, pronounced as ''Saint-Brice-en-Cogles''; ) is a former commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in northwestern France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune Maen Roch.Michael West (translated with Loïc Brabant), ''Foley'' (2006)
* Carolyn Carlson, ''Brins d'herbe'' (2011)
*Carolyn Carlson, ''Dialogue avec Rothko : une lecture de "Untitled : black, red over black on red"'' (2011)
*Carolyn Carlson, ''Traces d'encre'' (2013)
*Carolyn Carlson, ''Au bord de l'infini : suivi de Dialogue avec Rothko : poésie'' (2019)
Prix Guillaume Apollinaire
The prix Guillaume Apollinaire is a French poetry prize first awarded in 1941. It was named in honour of French writer Guillaume Apollinaire. It annually recognizes a collection of poems for its originality and modernity.
Members of the jury
The ...
(1994)
*Prix Max-Jacob (2006)
*Poetry Prize of the
Lucian Blaga
Lucian Blaga (; 9 May 1895 – 6 May 1961) was a Romanians, Romanian philosopher, poet, playwright, poetry translator and novelist. He is considered one of the greatest philosophers and poets of Romania, and a prominent philosopher of the twenti ...
International Poetry Festival (2010)
*Grand prix de poésie of the
Académie française
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...
(2022)
*Golden Wreath Laureate of the
Struga Poetry Evenings
Struga Poetry Evenings (SPE) (, СВП; tr. ''Struški večeri na poezijata'', ''SVP'') is an international poetry festival held annually in Struga, North Macedonia. During the several decades of its existence, the Festival has awarded its most ...
(2024)
*Golden Magnolia of the Shanghai International Poetry Festival (2024)