Pierre Louÿs
Encyclopedia
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
and classical themes in some of his writings. He is known as a writer who "expressed pagan sensuality with stylistic perfection."
Life
Pierre Louÿs was born Pierre Louis on December 10, 1870 in GhentGhent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, but moved to France
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...
where he would spend the rest of his life. He studied at the École Alsacienne in Paris, and there he developed a close friendship with a future Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
winner and champion of homosexual rights, André Gide
André Gide
André Paul Guillaume Gide was a French author and winner of the Nobel Prize in literature in 1947. Gide's career ranged from its beginnings in the symbolist movement, to the advent of anticolonialism between the two World Wars.Known for his fiction as well as his autobiographical works, Gide...
. In the 1890s, he became a friend of the noted Irish dramatist and homosexual Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
. Although heterosexual, Louÿs enjoyed entree into homosexual circles. Louÿs started writing his first erotic texts at the age of 18, at which point he developed an interest in the Parnassian and Symbolist
Symbolism (arts)
Symbolism was a late nineteenth-century art movement of French, Russian and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts. In literature, the style had its beginnings with the publication Les Fleurs du mal by Charles Baudelaire...
schools of writing.
Early writings
In 1891, Louÿs helped found a literary review, La Conque, where he proceeded to publish AstarteAstarte
Astarte is the Greek name of a goddess known throughout the Eastern Mediterranean from the Bronze Age to Classical times...
, an early collection of erotic verse already marked by his distinctive elegance and refinement of style. He followed up in 1894 with another erotic collection in 143 prose poems, Songs of Bilitis
Songs of Bilitis
The Songs of Bilitis is a collection of erotic poetry by Pierre Louÿs and published in Paris in 1894 .The book's sensual poems are in the manner of Sappho; the introduction claims they were found on the walls of a tomb in Cyprus, written by a woman of Ancient Greece called Bilitis, a courtesan and...
(Les Chansons de Bilitis), this time with strong lesbian themes. It was divided into three sections, each representative of a phase of Bilitis's life: Bucolics in Pamphylia, Elegies
Elegy
In literature, an elegy is a mournful, melancholic or plaintive poem, especially a funeral song or a lament for the dead.-History:The Greek term elegeia originally referred to any verse written in elegiac couplets and covering a wide range of subject matter, including epitaphs for tombs...
at Mytilene, and Epigram
Epigram
An epigram is a brief, interesting, usually memorable and sometimes surprising statement. Derived from the epigramma "inscription" from ἐπιγράφειν epigraphein "to write on inscribe", this literary device has been employed for over two millennia....
s in the Isle of Cyprus; dedicated to her were also a short Life of Bilitis and three epitaph
Epitaph
An epitaph is a short text honoring a deceased person, strictly speaking that is inscribed on their tombstone or plaque, but also used figuratively. Some are specified by the dead person beforehand, others chosen by those responsible for the burial...
s in The Tomb of Bilitis. What made The Songs sensational is Louÿs' claim that the poems were the work of an ancient Greek courtesan and contemporary of Sappho
Sappho
Sappho was an Ancient Greek poet, born on the island of Lesbos. Later Greeks included her in the list of nine lyric poets. Her birth was sometime between 630 and 612 BC, and it is said that she died around 570 BC, but little is known for certain about her life...
, Bilitis; to himself, Louÿs ascribed the modest role of translator. The pretense did not last very long, and "translator" Louÿs was soon unmasked as Bilitis herself. This did little to tarnish The Songs of Bilitis, however, as it was praised as a fount of elegant sensuality and refined style, even more extraordinary for the author's compassionate portrayal of lesbian (and female in general) sexuality.
Some of the poems were tailored as songs for voice and piano. Louÿs' close friend Claude Debussy
Claude Debussy
Claude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions...
composed a musical adaptation Chansons de Bilitis (Lesure Number 90) for voice and piano (1897-1898) in three parts:
- La flûte de Pan: Pour le jour des Hyacinthies
- La chevelure: Il m'a dit «Cette nuit j'ai rêvé»
- Le tombeau des Naiades: Le long du bois couvert de givre.
In 1955, one of the first lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
organizations in America called itself Daughters of Bilitis
Daughters of Bilitis
The Daughters of Bilitis , was the first lesbian rights organization in the United States. It was formed in San Francisco in 1955, conceived as a social alternative to lesbian bars, which were considered illegal and thus subject to raids and police harassment...
, and to this day Louÿs' Songs continues to be an important work for lesbians.
Later writings
In 1896, Louÿs published his first novelNovel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
, Aphrodite—Ancient Manners (Aphrodite—mœurs antiques), a depiction of courtesan life in Alexandria. It is considered a mixture of both literary excess and refinement, and, numbering at 350,000 copies, was the best selling work by any living French author in his day.
Louÿs went on to publish Les Aventures du roi Pausole (The Adventures of King Pausolus) in 1901, Pervigilium Mortis in 1916, both of them libertine compositions, and Manuel de civilité pour les petites filles à l'usage des maisons d'éducation
Manuel de civilité pour les petites filles à l'usage des maisons d'éducation
The Manuel de civilité pour les petites filles à l'usage des maisons d'éducation is an erotic literary work by the French writer Pierre Louÿs, written in 1917 and published posthumously and anonymously in 1927.It takes the form of a parody of the rigorous educational handbooks of...
(written in 1917, published posthumously and anonymously in 1927), a parody whose obscenity is almost unparalleled even in the long history of French clandestine publishing.
Even while on his deathbed, Pierre Louÿs continued to write delicately obscene verses.
Illustrators
Many erotic artists have illustrated Louÿs's writings. Some of the most renowned have been Suzanne Ballivet, Georges Barbier, Paul-Emile Bécat, Louis-André Berthommé, J. A. Bresval, Antoine Calbet, Beresford EganBeresford Egan
Beresford Egan was born in London and raised from the age of five in South Africa. He returned to London in July 1926 after spending two years as a precocious sports cartoonist on the Rand Daily Mail. He quickly established himself in the artistic and literary atmosphere of London. He not only...
, Foujita, Louis Icart, Joseph Kuhn-Régnier, George Lepap, Pierre Leroy, Pierre Lissac, Mariette Lydis, Milo Manara
Milo Manara
Maurilio Manara – known professionally as Milo Manara – is an Italian comic book writer and artist, best known for his erotic approach to the medium.-Career:...
, Lucio Milandre, Génia Minache, Pascal Pia
Pascal Pia
Pascal Pia, born Pierre Durand , was a French writer, journalist, illustrator and scholar. He also used the pseudonyms Pascal Rose, Pascal Fely and others....
,
Georges Pichard
Georges Pichard
Georges Pichard was a French comics artist, known for numerous BD magazine covers, serial publications and albums, stereotypically featuring partially exposed voluptuous women.-Biography:...
, Alméry Lobel Riche, Renée Ringel, Rojan
Feodor Stepanovich Rojankovsky
Feodor Stepanovich Rojankovsky , also known as Rojan, was a Russian émigré illustrator. He is best known for his illustrations for children's books, and conversely, for his erotic illustrations.-Biography:...
, Monique Rouver, Marcel Vertès
Marcel Vertès
Marcel Vertès was a Hungarian costume designer. He won two Academy Awards for his work on the 1952 film Moulin Rouge....
, Lotan Welshans, and Édouard Zier, The most famous illustrations for The Songs of Bilitis were done by Willy Pogany
Willy Pogany
William Andrew Pogany was a prolific Hungarian illustrator of children's and other books.-Biography:...
in art deco style for a publication privately circulated by Macy-Masius, New York, in 1926.
Quotes
- Admirable race, to whom Beauty might appear nude without exciting laughter or false shame!
- Why do love affairs always end miserably?
- The only thing that comes to disappear nobly and beautifully is the sun.
List of works
- 1891: Astarte
- 1894: Les chansons de Bilitis ("The songs of Bilitis")
- 1926 The Songs of Bilitis, English translation by Alvah BessieAlvah BessieAlvah Cecil Bessie was an American novelist, journalist and screenwriter who was imprisoned for ten months and blacklisted by the movie studio bosses for being one of the group known as the Hollywood Ten.-Life and career:...
- 1929: edition including suppressed poems
- 1930: Véritables chansons de Bilitis ("Real songs of Bilitis", probably not by Pierre Louÿs)
- 1926 The Songs of Bilitis, English translation by Alvah Bessie
- 1896: Aphrodite: mœurs antiquesAphrodite: mœurs antiquesAphrodite: mœurs antiques is an 1896 French-language novel by Pierre Louÿs.- Summary :Set in Alexandria, the novel tells the story of Chrysis, a courtesan, and the sculptor Démétrios. A Galilaean with long golden hair , Chrysis is proud of her beauty and her skill at winning the devotion and...
("Aphrodite: ancient manners")- 1928: edition including suppressed passages (translated into English in 1928 by Whittaker ChambersWhittaker ChambersWhittaker Chambers was born Jay Vivian Chambers and also known as David Whittaker Chambers , was an American writer and editor. After being a Communist Party USA member and Soviet spy, he later renounced communism and became an outspoken opponent later testifying in the perjury and espionage trial...
- 1928: edition including suppressed passages (translated into English in 1928 by Whittaker Chambers
- 1898: La femme et le pantinLa Femme et le pantinThe Woman and the Puppet is a novel by Pierre Louÿs that was adapted for film several times.-Film adaptations:*1920 - The Woman and the Puppet - Frank Lloyd, starring Geraldine Farrar...
("Woman and puppet")- 1908 Woman and Puppet English translation by G. F. Monkshood (pseudonym of William James Clarke ).
- 1901: Les aventures du roi Pausole ("The adventures of King Pausole")
- 1929 The Adventues of King Pausole, English translation by Charles Hope Lumley.
- 1903: Sanguines
- 1906: Archipel ("Archipelago")
- 1916: Pervigilium mortis ("Death watch")
- 1925: Le crépuscule des nymphes ("The twilight of the nymphs")
- 1925: Quatorze images ("Fourteen images")
- 1926: Manuel de civilité pour les petites filles à l'usage des maisons d'éducationManuel de civilité pour les petites filles à l'usage des maisons d'éducationThe Manuel de civilité pour les petites filles à l'usage des maisons d'éducation is an erotic literary work by the French writer Pierre Louÿs, written in 1917 and published posthumously and anonymously in 1927.It takes the form of a parody of the rigorous educational handbooks of...
("Handbook of behaviour for little girls to be used in educational establishments") - 1926: Trois Filles de Leur Mère ("Three Daughters of their Mother")
- 1969 Mother's Three Daughters, English translation by Sabine D'Estree (pseudonym of Richard SeaverRichard SeaverRichard Woodward Seaver was an American translator, editor and publisher. Seaver was instrumental in defying censorship, to bring to light works by authors such as Samuel Beckett, Jean Genet, Henry Miller, William S. Burroughs, Hubert Selby, Eugene Ionesco, E.M. Cioran, D.H. Lawrence, Jack...
)
- 1969 Mother's Three Daughters, English translation by Sabine D'Estree (pseudonym of Richard Seaver
- 1927: Psyché
- 1927: Pages (selected texts)
- 1927: Douze douzains de dialogues ("Twelve dozen dialogues")
- 1927: Histoire du roi Gonzalve et des douze princesses ("Story of King Gonzalve and the twelve princesses")
- 1927: Poésies érotiques ("Erotic poems")
- 1927: Pybrac
- 1927: Trente-deux quatrains ("Thirty-two quatrains")
- 1933: Au temps des Juges: chants bibliques ("In the time of the Judges: Biblical songs")
- 1933: Contes choisis (selected stories)
- 1938: La femme ("Woman")
- 1945: Stances et derniers vers ("Stanzas and last verses")
- 1948: Le trophée de vulves légendaires ("The trophy of legendary vulvas")
- 1949: Cydalise
- 1988: L'île aux dames ("The island of women")
For recent limited editions of further writings by Pierre Louÿs, see the bibliography by Patrick J. Kearney
Adaptions
- Les Aventures du roi PausoleLes aventures du roi PausoleLes aventures du roi Pausole is an opérette in three acts with music by Arthur Honegger and a French libretto by Albert Willemetz, based on the 1901 novel by Pierre Louÿs. It was Honegger’s third operatic work, but his first in lighter vein, composed between May and November 1930, and dedicated to...
, opérette in three acts with music by Arthur HoneggerArthur HoneggerArthur Honegger was a Swiss composer, who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. He was a member of Les six. His most frequently performed work is probably the orchestral work Pacific 231, which is interpreted as imitating the sound of a steam locomotive.-Biography:Born...
and libretto by Albert WillemetzAlbert WillemetzAlbert Willemetz was a French librettist.Albert Willemetz was a prolific lyricist. He invented a new type of musical, with a humorous and "sexy" style...
, Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens on 12 December 1930. - Aphrodite ('Monodramma di costumi antichi') with music and libretto by Giorgio BattistelliGiorgio BattistelliGiorgio Battistelli is an Italian composer of contemporary classical music. A native of Albano Laziale , he studied at the conservatory in L'Aquila and is a former student of Stockhausen and Kagel, Battistelli has written nearly 20 operas on subjects ranging from Diderot and d'Alembert's...
after the novel Aphrodite–mœurs antiques. Premiere: 7 Jul 1988; Villa MassimoVilla MassimoVilla Massimo, short for Deutsche Akademie Rom Villa Massimo , is a German art institute in Rome, established in 1910 and located in the Villa Massimo....
, Rome.