Etienne-Paulin Gagne
Encyclopedia
Etienne-Paulin Gagne was a French
poet
, essayist, lawyer, politician, inventor, and eccentric whose best known poem, The Woman-Messiah, is among the longest poems in French, or any language. The poem is 25,000 verses (60 acts and 12 songs) and is notable for its 24th act entitled Bestiologie which enumerates the advantages that a citizen of Paris would have by marrying the animals of the Jardin des Plantes
. He is also notable for proposing "Anthropophagy" at a public meeting and offering himself as food to starving Algerians.
on June 8, 1808, of a family which soon reestablished itself in Montélimar
. Early on he established himself as a lawyer and, after moving to Paris
, lost his only lawsuit.
In the 1850s, he moved back to Montélimar, and turned to prose and poetry after giving up law. His writings focused primarily on bizarre and burlesque social and political matters. He spent time as a minor politician and the creator of an unsuccessful journal entitled Hope. Much more success came with his second publication entitled The Theatre of the World in which contained some good articles, but none by his own hand. Shortly afterwards, Gagne wrote, The Woman-Messiah, one of his many immensely long poems. During this time he also invented a universal language he named "La Gagne-monopanglotte" which never spread outside himself.
In 1863, he moved back to Paris, in an accentuated eccentric state. He began to publish primarily in supernatural journals. One such journal, Uniter of the Visible and Invisible World, published his article in which Gagne proves the intervention of Satan
in the séance
.
Towards the end of the Second French Empire
, Gagne became more lavished in public meetings, where he would make speeches on socialism, anti-monarchy, and other similar subjects. Often he would organize strange political demonstrations at which he was the only participator. Many of his antics brought on laughter, but he was always a perpetual candidate for parliament. Gagne consistently took the radical route. In 1868, during an Algerian Famine, when his cries for hippophagy were not reciprocated he asked for anthropophagy
. He called for legislature that would prevent the famine by making the Algerians eat all elderly persons in France over the age of 60, including himself.
The Comte de Lautreamont
is known to have read Gagne. In Lautreamont's Poesies, Gagne is grouped with twelve tragic poets (including Lord Byron and Goethe.) Gagne has also been compared to "le Pere Gor", a hero created by Balzac.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, essayist, lawyer, politician, inventor, and eccentric whose best known poem, The Woman-Messiah, is among the longest poems in French, or any language. The poem is 25,000 verses (60 acts and 12 songs) and is notable for its 24th act entitled Bestiologie which enumerates the advantages that a citizen of Paris would have by marrying the animals of the Jardin des Plantes
Jardin des Plantes
The Jardin des Plantes is the main botanical garden in France. It is one of seven departments of the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle. It is situated in the 5ème arrondissement, Paris, on the left bank of the river Seine and covers 28 hectares .- Garden plan :The grounds of the Jardin des...
. He is also notable for proposing "Anthropophagy" at a public meeting and offering himself as food to starving Algerians.
Biography
Gagne was born in MontoisonMontoison
Montoison is a commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France.-Population:...
on June 8, 1808, of a family which soon reestablished itself in Montélimar
Montélimar
Montélimar is a commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France. It is the second-largest town in the department after Valence.-History:...
. Early on he established himself as a lawyer and, after moving to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, lost his only lawsuit.
In the 1850s, he moved back to Montélimar, and turned to prose and poetry after giving up law. His writings focused primarily on bizarre and burlesque social and political matters. He spent time as a minor politician and the creator of an unsuccessful journal entitled Hope. Much more success came with his second publication entitled The Theatre of the World in which contained some good articles, but none by his own hand. Shortly afterwards, Gagne wrote, The Woman-Messiah, one of his many immensely long poems. During this time he also invented a universal language he named "La Gagne-monopanglotte" which never spread outside himself.
In 1863, he moved back to Paris, in an accentuated eccentric state. He began to publish primarily in supernatural journals. One such journal, Uniter of the Visible and Invisible World, published his article in which Gagne proves the intervention of Satan
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
in the séance
Séance
A séance is an attempt to communicate with spirits. The word "séance" comes from the French word for "seat," "session" or "sitting," from the Old French "seoir," "to sit." In French, the word's meaning is quite general: one may, for example, speak of "une séance de cinéma"...
.
Towards the end of the Second French Empire
Second French Empire
The Second French Empire or French Empire was the Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 1852 to 1870, between the Second Republic and the Third Republic, in France.-Rule of Napoleon III:...
, Gagne became more lavished in public meetings, where he would make speeches on socialism, anti-monarchy, and other similar subjects. Often he would organize strange political demonstrations at which he was the only participator. Many of his antics brought on laughter, but he was always a perpetual candidate for parliament. Gagne consistently took the radical route. In 1868, during an Algerian Famine, when his cries for hippophagy were not reciprocated he asked for anthropophagy
Anthropophagy
Anthropophagy is the eating of human flesh. It may refer to:*Cannibalism, the eating of human flesh by another human**Self-cannibalism, the eating of one's own flesh*Man-eating, the eating of human flesh by man-eaters...
. He called for legislature that would prevent the famine by making the Algerians eat all elderly persons in France over the age of 60, including himself.
The Comte de Lautreamont
Comte de Lautréamont
Comte de Lautréamont was the pseudonym of Isidore Lucien Ducasse , an Uruguayan-born French poet....
is known to have read Gagne. In Lautreamont's Poesies, Gagne is grouped with twelve tragic poets (including Lord Byron and Goethe.) Gagne has also been compared to "le Pere Gor", a hero created by Balzac.
Quotes
- "A human being over sixty is neither useful nor ornamental, and to prove that I mean what I say, I am willing to give myself as food to my sublime and suffering townsmen."
Secondary literature
- Comte de Lautreamont (trans. Lykiard]: "Maldoror", pp. 238, 311.
- Dictionnaire biographique et biblio-iconographique de la Drôme by Justin Brun-Durand, p. 350-351 (French)
- An Englishman in Paris (Notes and Recollections) by Albert Dresden Vandam, p. 390 (English)
- Dictionnaire biographique et biblio-iconographique de la Drôme by Justin Brun-Durand, p. 350-351 (French)
- Polybiblion: Revue bibliographique universelle by Société bibliographique , p. 274-275 (French)
- The Prix Volney By Joan Leopold, p. 265 (English)