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

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, who was a strong advocate of

Breton nationalism Breton nationalism (, ) is the nationalism of the historical province of Brittany, France. Brittany is considered to be one of the six Celtic nations (along with Cornwall, Ireland, the Isle of Man, Scotland and Wales). Breton ''nationalism'' wa ...

during the Third Emsav. His work glorifies a mystical Brittany.

Early career

Xavier Grall was born in

Landivisiau Landivisiau (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Finistère Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in north-western France. The journalist Luc Le Vaillant, winner of the 1998 Albert Londres Prize w ...

Finistère Finistère (, ; ) is a Departments of France, department of France in the extreme west of Brittany. Its prefecture is Quimper and its largest city is Brest, France, Brest. In 2019, it had a population of 915,090.La Vie catholique'', of which he was editor, and ''Témoignage chrétien''. He also wrote for ''

Le Monde (; ) is a mass media in France, French daily afternoon list of newspapers in France, newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average print circulation, circulation of 480,000 copies per issue in 2022, including ...

'' 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 Pont-Aven (; in Breton) is a commune in the Finistère department in the Brittany region in Northwestern France. Demographics Inhabitants of Pont-Aven are called in French. Pont-Aven absorbed the former commune of Nizon in 1954, which had ...

. 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) ''; '' (and sometimes in Algeria as the ''War of 1 November'') was an armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (Algeri ...

. 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 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 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 (; ; 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 1952 Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Pr ...

James Dean James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931September 30, 1955) was an American actor. He became one of the most influential figures in Hollywood in the 1950s, despite a career that lasted only five years. His impact on cinema and popular culture was p ...

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 Quimperlé (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Finistère Departments of France, department, region of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany, northwestern France. Geography Quimperlé is in the southeast of Finistère, 20 km t ...

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

). ''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 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 Kelenin, 1968 *''Keltia Blues'', Éditions Kelenin, 1971 *'' Glenmor'', 1972 *''La fête de la nuit'', Éditions Kelenin, 1972 *''Rires et pleurs de l'Aven'', Éditions Kelenin, 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. An Here. 2002 *''Au nom du père''. Recueil de textes parus dans La Vie An Here. 2003, 486 p. *''Œuvre Poétique'', éditions Rougerie, 2010

References

{{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