Robèrt Lafont (; March 16, 1923 in

Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; oc, Nimes ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the prefecture of the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Located between the Mediterranean Sea and Cévennes, the commune of Nîmes has an estimated population of 148,5 ...

– June 24, 2009 in Florence) was a French intellectual from Provence. He was a linguist, an author, an historian, an expert in literature and a political theoretician. His name in

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

reads Robert Lafont.

Biography

Robèrt Lafont was professor

emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

at the Paul-Valéry University of

Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...

. A professional linguist, he was a polyglot, novelist, poet, playwright, essayist and a medievalist. A versatile writer, Lafont wrote nearly a hundred books in Occitan, French, Catalan and Italian. The wide scope of themes he explores includes the history of literature and of society, linguistics and

sociolinguistics Sociolinguistics is the descriptive study of the effect of any or all aspects of society, including cultural norms, expectations, and context, on the way language is used, and society's effect on language. It can overlap with the sociology of l ...

and the social-economic imbalance in France and Europe. In the essays he wrote in French, Robèrt Lafont tackles the problems encountered not only by the people of Occitania but also the various minorities struggling for official recognition under French rule, such as Bretons, Catalans,

Basques The Basques ( or ; eu, euskaldunak ; es, vascos ; french: basques ) are a Southwestern European ethnic group, characterised by the Basque language, a common culture and shared genetic ancestry to the ancient Vascones and Aquitanians. Bas ...

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

ns or Alsatians among others. Lafont is a key figure in the analysis of '' internal colonialism'', as far as '' lo País'' is concerned. On the other hand, the Occitan side of his works stands out as a revolutionary change in the literary production in '' la lenga nòstra'', inasmuch as it completely breaks off with the more usual tradition of folklore and tales. Robèrt Lafont founded the Occitan Committee for Study and Action (COEA) and ran a number of reviews, most notably ''L'Ase negre'' (''The Black Donkey'') in 1946 and ''Viure'' (''Live'') in 1962. He also produced and sponsored social theatre. He became the chairman of the Institut d'Estudis Occitans but left in 1981 following internal disagreements with Ives Roqueta in particular. In 1974, he claimed to be interested in running for French presidency but never managed to meet the legal prerequisites.

Works

Poetry

* ''Dire'' (1945–53) (''Tell'') * ''La Loba'' (1959) (''The She-Wolf'') * ''Poèma a l'estrangièra'' (1960) (''A Poem to the Foreign Girl'') * ''Aire liure'' (1974) (''Open Air'') * ''Lausa per un solèu mòrt e reviudat'' (1984) (''A Slate for a Dead Sun Born Again'')

Prose

* ''Vida de Joan Larsinhac'' (''The Life of Joan Larsinhac'') (1951

* ''L'Icòna dins l'iscla'' (1971) (''The Icon on the Island''

* ''Lo Decameronet'' (1983) (''The Little Decameron''

* ''La Fèsta'' (1983–84), (''The Party'') ''Lo Cavalier de març'' (''The March Rider'') & ''Lo Libre de Joan'' (''The Book of Joan'') * ''L'Enclaus'' (1992) (''The Enclosure'')

Drama

* ''Dòm Esquichòte (1973) ( Don Quixote) * ''Lei Cascavèus'' (1977) (''The Male Genitals'') * ''La Croisade'' (1983) (''The Crusade''), in French

Essays in French

* ''La Révolution régionaliste'' (''The Regionalist Revolution'') (1967) * ''Sur la France'' (''On France'') (1968) * ''Décoloniser en France'' (''Decolonizing France'') (1971) * ''Le Travail et la langue'' (''Working & the Language'') (1978) * ''Nous, Peuple Européen'' (''We European People'') (1991) * ''La Nation, l'État, les Régions'' (''Nation, State & Regions'') (1993)

External links

*
Jorn Publishing House
*
Video of an Interview
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lafont, Robert 1923 births 2009 deaths Occitan-language writers Occitan linguists 20th-century French non-fiction writers People from Nîmes 20th-century French male writers