Armand Robin
Encyclopedia
Armand Robin was a French
poet
, translator, and journalist.
by Rostrenen
(Côtes-d'Armor
) and came to Paris
. He was unable to settle down for all his life. He traveled to USSR in 1934, and returned shocked by the reality of communism
. During the German occupation of France during World War II he worked in radio broadcasting foreign news.
Robin continued his language studies so that he understood twenty-six languages. He translated works from English (Shakespeare
), Russian (Yesenin
, Blok
, Pasternak
), Hungarian (Ady
), Polish (Mickiewicz
), Italian (Ungaretti
), Chinese (Tu Fu), Flemish, Finnish, German, Arabic, Spanish, Kalmyk, etc.
He joined the French Anarchist Federation
in 1945, which published his Poèmes indésirables (Undesirable Poems). He authored "La fausse parole" (The False Word), which dissected the mechanisms of propaganda in the totalitarian countries.
On March 27, 1961, Robin was arrested because he had no identity document
, and died three days later under mysterious circumstances in a Parisian hospital.
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...
, translator, and journalist.
Life
Robin was born in PlouguernévelPlouguernével
Plouguernével is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France.Historically it is cited for intervening in the Révolte des Bonnets Rouges of 1675....
by Rostrenen
Rostrenen
Rostrenen is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Bretagne in northwestern France.-Breton language:The municipality launched a linguistic plan through Ya d'ar brezhoneg on September 13, 2004....
(Côtes-d'Armor
Côtes-d'Armor
Côtes-d'Armor is a department in the north of Brittany, in northwestern France.-History:Côtes-du-Nord was one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from part of the former province of Brittany. Its name was changed in 1990 to...
) and came 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...
. He was unable to settle down for all his life. He traveled to USSR in 1934, and returned shocked by the reality of communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
. During the German occupation of France during World War II he worked in radio broadcasting foreign news.
Robin continued his language studies so that he understood twenty-six languages. He translated works from English (Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
), Russian (Yesenin
Sergei Yesenin
Sergei Alexandrovich Yesenin was a Russian lyrical poet. He was one of the most popular and well-known Russian poets of the 20th century but committed suicide at the age of 30...
, Blok
Alexander Blok
Alexander Alexandrovich Blok was a Russian lyrical poet.-Life and career:Blok was born in Saint Petersburg, into a sophisticated and intellectual family. Some of his relatives were literary men, his father being a law professor in Warsaw, and his maternal grandfather the rector of Saint Petersburg...
, Pasternak
Boris Pasternak
Boris Leonidovich Pasternak was a Russian language poet, novelist, and literary translator. In his native Russia, Pasternak's anthology My Sister Life, is one of the most influential collections ever published in the Russian language...
), Hungarian (Ady
Endre Ady
Endre Ady was a Hungarian poet.-Biography:Ady was born in Érmindszent, Szilágy county . He belonged to an impoverished Calvinist noble family...
), Polish (Mickiewicz
Adam Mickiewicz
Adam Bernard Mickiewicz ) was a Polish poet, publisher and political writer of the Romantic period. One of the primary representatives of the Polish Romanticism era, a national poet of Poland, he is seen as one of Poland's Three Bards and the greatest poet in all of Polish literature...
), Italian (Ungaretti
Giuseppe Ungaretti
Giuseppe Ungaretti was an Italian modernist poet, journalist, essayist, critic and academic. A leading representative of the experimental trend known as Ermetismo , he was one of the most prominent contributors to 20th century Italian literature. Influenced by symbolism, he was briefly aligned...
), Chinese (Tu Fu), Flemish, Finnish, German, Arabic, Spanish, Kalmyk, etc.
He joined the French Anarchist Federation
Anarchist Federation (France)
Fédération Anarchiste is an anarchist federation in France and Belgium. It is a member of the International of Anarchist Federations since its establishment in 1968.- History :...
in 1945, which published his Poèmes indésirables (Undesirable Poems). He authored "La fausse parole" (The False Word), which dissected the mechanisms of propaganda in the totalitarian countries.
On March 27, 1961, Robin was arrested because he had no identity document
Identity document
An identity document is any document which may be used to verify aspects of a person's personal identity. If issued in the form of a small, mostly standard-sized card, it is usually called an identity card...
, and died three days later under mysterious circumstances in a Parisian hospital.
Poetry
- Poèmes indésirables (1945)
- Le Monde d'une voix, Gallimard (1968)
- Fragments, Gallimard (1992)
- Le cycle du pays natal, La Part Commune (2000)
Translations
- Poèmes d'AdyEndre AdyEndre Ady was a Hungarian poet.-Biography:Ady was born in Érmindszent, Szilágy county . He belonged to an impoverished Calvinist noble family...
, Le Seuil (1946), Le temps qu'il fait (1991) - Poèmes de Boris PasternakBoris PasternakBoris Leonidovich Pasternak was a Russian language poet, novelist, and literary translator. In his native Russia, Pasternak's anthology My Sister Life, is one of the most influential collections ever published in the Russian language...
(1946) - Quatre Poètes russes (1949)
- Poésie non traduite (1953)
- Poésie non traduite II (1958)
- RubayatRubaiyat of Omar KhayyamThe Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám is the title that Edward FitzGerald gave to his translation of a selection of poems, originally written in Persian and of which there are about a thousand, attributed to Omar Khayyám , a Persian poet, mathematician and astronomer...
d'Omar KhayamOmar KhayyámOmar Khayyám was aPersian polymath: philosopher, mathematician, astronomer and poet. He also wrote treatises on mechanics, geography, mineralogy, music, climatology and theology....
(1958) - Les Gaillardes Épouses de WindsorThe Merry Wives of WindsorThe Merry Wives of Windsor is a comedy by William Shakespeare, first published in 1602, though believed to have been written prior to 1597. It features the fat knight Sir John Falstaff, and is Shakespeare's only play to deal exclusively with contemporary Elizabethan era English middle class life...
et OthelloOthelloThe Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
de Shakespeare (1958) - Le Roi LearKing LearKing Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological...
de Shakespeare (1959) - Écrits oubliés II, Ubacs (1986)
Radio broadcasts
- Pâques fête de la joie, Calligrammes (1982)
- Poésie sans passeport, Ubacs (1990)
Essays, articles
- La fausse Parole, Minuit (1953), Le Temps qu'il fait (2002)
- L'homme sans nouvelle, Le temps qu'il fait (1981)
- Écrits oubliés I, Ubacs (1986)
- Expertise de la fausse parole, Ubacs (1990)
Correspondence
- Lettres à Jean Guéhenno, Lettres à Jules SupervielleJules SupervielleJules 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...
, Librairie La Nerthe (2006)