Georges Schehadé
Encyclopedia
Georges Schehadé was a Lebanese
playwright
and poet
writing in French
.
, Egypt
, in a Greek
orthodox
family but spent most of his life in Beirut
, Lebanon
. He studied law
at the University of Beirut and became a general secretary at the Ecole Supérieure de Lettres in 1945.
In 1930 Saint-John Perse
published Schehadé's first poems in the literary magazine Commerce. During his first travel to Europe in 1933 he met Max Jacob
and Jules Supervielle
. After World War II
he frequently stayed in Paris where he sympathized with the Surrealists, especially with André Breton
and Benjamin Péret
.
Between 1938 and 1951 Georges Schehadé wrote four small books of poetry
that Gallimard published in 1952 under the title Les Poésies.
The year before Georges Vitaly produced Schehadé's first play, Monsieur Bob'le, at the Théâtre de la Huchette
, and it got very controversial reviews. Most critics didn't like it at all but several poets and actors – amongst them André Breton, René Char
, Georges Limbour
, Benjamin Péret, Henri Pichette and Gérard Philipe
– were very fond of it and wrote a couple of articles in Le Figaro Littéraire.
In 1954 Jean-Louis Barrault
produced his second play, La Soirée des proverbes, that hadn't any success either. Only in 1956, with his third play, Histoire de Vasco (world premièred at Schauspielhaus Zürich
), Schehadé wrote a work that was staged all over the world and translated into more than 25 languages. In 1974 the British composer Gordon Crosse
(translation and libretto by Ted Hughes
) made an opera out of this play: The Story of Vasco, premièred by Sadler's Wells Opera at the Coliseum Theatre
in London
.
From 1960 to 1965 Schehadé wrote three other plays, Les Violettes (1960), Le Voyage (1961) and L'Emigré de Brisbane (1965) that entered the repertoire of the Comédie-Française
in 1967. It was his last play.
In 1985, after a long period of silence, Georges Schehadé published his last book of poetry, Le Nageur d'un seul amour, a collection of poems he had written between the late 1960s and the early 1980s. He died on January 17, 1989, in Paris
and was buried in the Cimetière du Montparnasse.
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
and 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...
writing in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
.
Life and career
Georges Schehadé was born in AlexandriaAlexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, in a Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
orthodox
Greek Orthodox Church
The Greek Orthodox Church is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity sharing a common cultural tradition whose liturgy is also traditionally conducted in Koine Greek, the original language of the New Testament...
family but spent most of his life in Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
, Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
. He studied law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
at the University of Beirut and became a general secretary at the Ecole Supérieure de Lettres in 1945.
In 1930 Saint-John Perse
Saint-John Perse
Saint-John Perse was a French poet, awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1960 "for the soaring flight and evocative imagery of his poetry." He was also a major French diplomat from 1914 to 1940, after which he lived primarily in the USA until 1967.-Biography:Alexis Leger was...
published Schehadé's first poems in the literary magazine Commerce. During his first travel to Europe in 1933 he met Max Jacob
Max Jacob
Max Jacob was a French poet, painter, writer, and critic.-Life and career:After spending his childhood in Quimper, Brittany, France, he enrolled in the Paris Colonial School, which he left in 1897 for an artistic career...
and Jules Supervielle
Jules Supervielle
Jules Supervielle was a French poet and writer born in Uruguay.Jules Supervielle always kept away from Surrealism which was dominant in the first half of the twentieth century...
. After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he frequently stayed in Paris where he sympathized with the Surrealists, especially with André Breton
André Breton
André Breton was a French writer and poet. He is known best as the founder of Surrealism. His writings include the first Surrealist Manifesto of 1924, in which he defined surrealism as "pure psychic automatism"....
and Benjamin Péret
Benjamin Péret
Benjamin Péret was a French poet, Parisian Dadaist and a founder and central member of the French Surrealist movement with his avid use of Surrealist automatism.-Biography:...
.
Between 1938 and 1951 Georges Schehadé wrote four small books of poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
that Gallimard published in 1952 under the title Les Poésies.
The year before Georges Vitaly produced Schehadé's first play, Monsieur Bob'le, at the Théâtre de la Huchette
Théâtre de la Huchette
The Théâtre de la Huchette is a theatre in Paris.This small theatre in Paris' Left Bank, located at 23 rue de la Huchette in the 5th arrondissement, is known for playing Eugene Ionesco's absurdist double-bill of The Lesson and The Bald Soprano in permanent repertory since 1957, as "Spectacle...
, and it got very controversial reviews. Most critics didn't like it at all but several poets and actors – amongst them André Breton, René Char
René Char
René Char was a 20th century French poet.-Biography:Char was born in L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue in the Vaucluse department of France, the youngest of four children of Emile Char and Marie-Therese Rouget, where his father was mayor and managing director of the Vaucluse plasterworks...
, Georges Limbour
Georges Limbour
Georges Limbour was a French writer of prose and poetry.He was a member of the Surrealist Movement in Paris during the 1920s, but was expelled in 1929. Before his association with André Breton and the Surrealists, Limbour co-edited, along with Roger Vitrac and René Crevel, the avant-garde review...
, Benjamin Péret, Henri Pichette and Gérard Philipe
Gérard Philipe
Gérard Philipe was a prominent French actor, who had appeared in 34 films between 1944 and 1959.-Career:...
– were very fond of it and wrote a couple of articles in Le Figaro Littéraire.
In 1954 Jean-Louis Barrault
Jean-Louis Barrault
Jean-Louis Barrault was a French actor, director and mime artist, training that served him well when he portrayed the 19th-century mime Jean-Gaspard Deburau in Marcel Carné's 1945 film Les Enfants du Paradis .Jean-Louis Barrault studied with Charles Dullin in whose troupe he acted...
produced his second play, La Soirée des proverbes, that hadn't any success either. Only in 1956, with his third play, Histoire de Vasco (world premièred at Schauspielhaus Zürich
Schauspielhaus Zürich
The Schauspielhaus Zürich is one of the most prominent and important theatres in the German-speaking world. It is also known as "Pfauenbühne" after its location on the Pfauen Square in Zürich, Switzerland. The large theatre has 750 seats...
), Schehadé wrote a work that was staged all over the world and translated into more than 25 languages. In 1974 the British composer Gordon Crosse
Gordon Crosse
Gordon Crosse is an English composer.-Biography:Crosse was born in Bury, Lancashire and in 1961 graduated from St Edmund Hall, Oxford with a first class honours degree in Music. He then undertook two years of postgraduate research on early fifteenth-century music before beginning an academic...
(translation and libretto by Ted Hughes
Ted Hughes
Edward James Hughes OM , more commonly known as Ted Hughes, was an English poet and children's writer. Critics routinely rank him as one of the best poets of his generation. Hughes was British Poet Laureate from 1984 until his death.Hughes was married to American poet Sylvia Plath, from 1956 until...
) made an opera out of this play: The Story of Vasco, premièred by Sadler's Wells Opera at the Coliseum Theatre
Coliseum Theatre
The London Coliseum is an opera house and major performing venue on St. Martin's Lane, central London. It is one of London's largest and best equipped theatres and opened in 1904, designed by theatrical architect Frank Matcham , for impresario Oswald Stoll...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
From 1960 to 1965 Schehadé wrote three other plays, Les Violettes (1960), Le Voyage (1961) and L'Emigré de Brisbane (1965) that entered the repertoire of the Comédie-Française
Comédie-Française
The Comédie-Française or Théâtre-Français is one of the few state theaters in France. It is the only state theater to have its own troupe of actors. It is located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris....
in 1967. It was his last play.
In 1985, after a long period of silence, Georges Schehadé published his last book of poetry, Le Nageur d'un seul amour, a collection of poems he had written between the late 1960s and the early 1980s. He died on January 17, 1989, in 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...
and was buried in the Cimetière du Montparnasse.
Poetry
- Étincelles, Edition de la Pensée latine, Paris 1928
- Poésies I, GLM, Paris 1938
- Poésies II, GLM, Paris 1948
- Poésies III, GLM, Paris 1949
- Poésies Zéro ou L'Écolier Sultan (written in 1928/29), GLM, Paris 1950
- Si tu rencontres un ramier (later called Poésies IV), GLM, Paris 1951
- Les Poésies (Poésie I–IV), Gallimard, Paris 1952
- Poésies V (1972)
- Le Nageur d'un seul amour (= Poésies VI), Gallimard, Paris 1985)
- Poésies VII (last poems), Editions Dar An-Nahar, Beyrouth 1998
Plays
- Monsieur Bob'le, Gallimard, Paris 1951
- La Soirée des proverbes, Gallimard, Paris 1954
- Histoire de Vasco, Gallimard, Paris 1956
- Les Violettes, Gallimard, Paris 1960
- Le Voyage, Gallimard, Paris 1961
- L'Émigré de Brisbane, Gallimard, Paris 1965
- L'Habit fait le prince (written in 1957), pantomime, Gallimard, Paris 1973
Other works
- Rodogune Sinne („novel“, published in 1942, 1947; written in 1929)
- GohaGohaGoha is a French-Tunisian film of 1958. It was starred by Omar Sharif and it was the cinema debut of Claudia Cardinale. At the 1958 Cannes Film Festival it was awarded with the Jury Prize and it had been nominated for the Golden Palm.-Cast:...
(screenplay), 1958 - Anthologie du vers unique, Ramsay, Paris 1977