Felix Gras
Encyclopedia
Félix Gras was a Provençal poet
and novel
ist. He was born into a farming family and went to secondary school at the college of Sainte Garde à Saint Didier. He studied law
as a clerk to the notary
Jules Giéia in Avignon, later becoming a notary himself, but also enthusiastically attended poetry meetings where he read his first poems.
Soon abandoning his law training, Gras published Li Carbounié, a rustic epic poem
in twelve cantos, in 1876, noted for its "elemental passion" and scenic descriptions, for which he gained immediate recognition. In 1879, he married the niece of Joseph Roumanille
, the husband of his sister Rose Anaïs. His next work, Toloza, an epic poem about the invasion of the Albigenses
by Simon de Montfort
, came in 1882, to further acclaim. He produced a volume of short poems, Li Roumancero Provengal, in 1887, followed by a collection of prose stories, La Paplino, in 1891.
In 1891 (succeeding Joseph Roumanille), Gras was elected 3rd Capoulie (president) of Le Félibre Rouge
, a literary and cultural association founded by Frédéric Mistral
(1st Capoulie) and other Provençal writers to defend and promote the Provençal language
and Provençal literature. He held this post until his death.
Gras achieved popular success in 1896 with the novel Li Rouge dou Miejour, which was translated into English
as The Reds of the Midi (Reds of the South). It was praised by former British Prime Minister
Gladstone
, and was subsequently published in several other languages. He continued to form a trilogy of tales dealing with the late period of the French Revolution
with La Terrour (The Terror) and La Terrour Blanco (The White Terror). This series is considered by some to be the most remarkable prose work in the Provençal language.
The epitaph on his tomb, in his native town of Malemort, reads:
Provençal literature
Occitan literature — still sometimes called Provençal literature — is a body of texts written in Occitan in what is nowadays the South of France. It originated in the poetry of the 11th- and 12th-century troubadours, and inspired the rise of vernacular literature throughout medieval...
and novel
Novel
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....
ist. He was born into a farming family and went to secondary school at the college of Sainte Garde à Saint Didier. 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...
as a clerk to the notary
Notary public
A notary public in the common law world is a public officer constituted by law to serve the public in non-contentious matters usually concerned with estates, deeds, powers-of-attorney, and foreign and international business...
Jules Giéia in Avignon, later becoming a notary himself, but also enthusiastically attended poetry meetings where he read his first poems.
Soon abandoning his law training, Gras published Li Carbounié, a rustic epic poem
Epic poetry
An epic is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation. Oral poetry may qualify as an epic, and Albert Lord and Milman Parry have argued that classical epics were fundamentally an oral poetic form...
in twelve cantos, in 1876, noted for its "elemental passion" and scenic descriptions, for which he gained immediate recognition. In 1879, he married the niece of Joseph Roumanille
Joseph Roumanille
Joseph Roumanille was a Provençal poet. He was born at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence , and is commonly known in southern France as the father of the Félibrige, for he first conceived the idea of raising his regional language to the dignity of a literary language.-Biography:Joseph Roumanille was the son...
, the husband of his sister Rose Anaïs. His next work, Toloza, an epic poem about the invasion of the Albigenses
Cathar
Catharism was a name given to a Christian religious sect with dualistic and gnostic elements that appeared in the Languedoc region of France and other parts of Europe in the 11th century and flourished in the 12th and 13th centuries...
by Simon de Montfort
Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester
Simon IV de Montfort, Seigneur de Montfort-l'Amaury, 5th Earl of Leicester , also known as Simon de Montfort the elder, was a French nobleman who took part in the Fourth Crusade and was a prominent leader of the Albigensian Crusade...
, came in 1882, to further acclaim. He produced a volume of short poems, Li Roumancero Provengal, in 1887, followed by a collection of prose stories, La Paplino, in 1891.
In 1891 (succeeding Joseph Roumanille), Gras was elected 3rd Capoulie (president) of Le Félibre Rouge
Félibrige
The Félibrige is a literary and cultural association founded by Frédéric Mistral and other Provençal writers to defend and promote Occitan language and literature...
, a literary and cultural association founded by Frédéric Mistral
Frédéric Mistral
Frédéric Mistral was a French writer and lexicographer of the Occitan language. Mistral won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1904 and was a founding member of Félibrige and a member of l'Académie de Marseille...
(1st Capoulie) and other Provençal writers to defend and promote the Provençal language
Provençal language
Provençal is a dialect of Occitan spoken by a minority of people in southern France, mostly in Provence. In the English-speaking world, "Provençal" is often used to refer to all dialects of Occitan, but it actually refers specifically to the dialect spoken in Provence."Provençal" is also the...
and Provençal literature. He held this post until his death.
Gras achieved popular success in 1896 with the novel Li Rouge dou Miejour, which was translated into English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
as The Reds of the Midi (Reds of the South). It was praised by former British Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
, and was subsequently published in several other languages. He continued to form a trilogy of tales dealing with the late period of the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
with La Terrour (The Terror) and La Terrour Blanco (The White Terror). This series is considered by some to be the most remarkable prose work in the Provençal language.
The epitaph on his tomb, in his native town of Malemort, reads:
Amo moun village maï que toun village, amo ma Provenço maï que ta province, amo la Franço maï que tout !