Jean Portante
Encyclopedia
Jean Portante is a Luxembourg
poet, novelist, translator and journalist. He grew up in an Italian immigrant family but finally chose French as the language for his works.
He has written over twenty books, which include collections of poems, short stories, plays, screenplays, chronicles and novels, and he has been translated into several languages. He is the director of the 'Graphiti' series of poetry in Editions PHI, and the editor of the weekly Le Jeudi. He chairs and runs the Journées Littéraires de Mondorf. Jean Portante is a founding member of the European Academy of Poetry and a member of International P.E.N. France. In 2011, he was awarded Luxembourg's prestigious Batty Weber Prize
.
However, for Jean Portante, French is a language outside the dyad Italy-Luxembourg, a language learned, tamed, but which always remains to be conquered. Portante called it a "strange language" (the title of one of his collections which was awarded the French Prix Mallarmé in 2003).
Jean Portante started to write when he was 33 years. Before, he studied in Nancy, France. In 1983, when he wrote his first book of poems, Fire and mud, he moved to Paris. He translated works by Juan Gelman
and Gonzalo Rojas
into French.
Currently, he heads the Luxembourg collection Graphiti (poetry) editions. In France, he is a member of the Académie Mallarmé
and the Prix Guillaume Apollinaire
. In 2003 he received the Grand Award of the Society, for all his work, and the Prix Mallarmé. Previously, his novel "Mrs. Haroy or the memory of the whale" to be filmed in 2010 earned him Luxembourg's Servais Prize
(best book of the year in any genre).
In Luxembourg, he founded in 2009 the literary magazine Transkrit, dedicated to translating contemporary literature, and Phi. In France, he co-founded, with Jacques Darras and Jean-Yves Reuzeau, the journal Inuits dans la jungle, the first issue being published in June 2008.
In March 2011, he was awarded the Batty Weber Prize for his work as a whole. The jury commented: "Since the beginning of the 1980s, Jean Portante has explored topics related to identity, from memory to forgetfulness, in various literary genres, especially poetry, the novel, drama and the essay. His literary style continues to evolve, marked by strong intertextuality, providing access to new interpretations and inciting pluralized reading." Mention was also made of Portante's efforts to "promote Luxembourg literature
both at home and abroad".
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
poet, novelist, translator and journalist. He grew up in an Italian immigrant family but finally chose French as the language for his works.
He has written over twenty books, which include collections of poems, short stories, plays, screenplays, chronicles and novels, and he has been translated into several languages. He is the director of the 'Graphiti' series of poetry in Editions PHI, and the editor of the weekly Le Jeudi. He chairs and runs the Journées Littéraires de Mondorf. Jean Portante is a founding member of the European Academy of Poetry and a member of International P.E.N. France. In 2011, he was awarded Luxembourg's prestigious Batty Weber Prize
Batty Weber Prize
The Batty Weber Prize or Prix Batty Weber is Luxembourg's national literary prize. It has been awarded every three years since 1987 to a Luxembourg writer for his entire literary work...
.
Life
As he describes in his novel Mrs Haroy ou la mémoire de la baleine, from an early age he felt like a world citizen.However, for Jean Portante, French is a language outside the dyad Italy-Luxembourg, a language learned, tamed, but which always remains to be conquered. Portante called it a "strange language" (the title of one of his collections which was awarded the French Prix Mallarmé in 2003).
Jean Portante started to write when he was 33 years. Before, he studied in Nancy, France. In 1983, when he wrote his first book of poems, Fire and mud, he moved to Paris. He translated works by Juan Gelman
Juan Gelman
Juan Gelman is an Argentine poet. He has published more than twenty books of poetry since 1956. He won the Cervantes Prize in 2007, the most important in Spanish literature...
and Gonzalo Rojas
Gonzalo Rojas
Gonzalo Rojas Pizarro was a Chilean poet. His work is part of the continuing Latin American avant-garde literary tradition of the twentieth century.- Biography :...
into French.
Currently, he heads the Luxembourg collection Graphiti (poetry) editions. In France, he is a member of the Académie Mallarmé
Académie Mallarmé
The Académie Mallarmé is a French literary academy of writers and poets, founded in 1937. Since 1976, the Académie has awarded the Prix Mallarmé literary prize at the Brive book fair....
and the Prix Guillaume Apollinaire
Prix Guillaume Apollinaire
-Winners:* 2010 : Jean-Marie Barnaud for Fragments d'un corps incertain * 2009 : Jacques Ancet for L'identité obscure * 2008 : Alain Borer for Icare & I don’t...
. In 2003 he received the Grand Award of the Society, for all his work, and the Prix Mallarmé. Previously, his novel "Mrs. Haroy or the memory of the whale" to be filmed in 2010 earned him Luxembourg's Servais Prize
Servais Prize
The Servais Prize for Literature is a Luxembourgian literary award, awarded since 1992 by the Servais Foundation. It is judged by a jury, and can be bestowed upon any writer from Luxembourg, regardless of format or language.-List of laureates:...
(best book of the year in any genre).
In Luxembourg, he founded in 2009 the literary magazine Transkrit, dedicated to translating contemporary literature, and Phi. In France, he co-founded, with Jacques Darras and Jean-Yves Reuzeau, the journal Inuits dans la jungle, the first issue being published in June 2008.
In March 2011, he was awarded the Batty Weber Prize for his work as a whole. The jury commented: "Since the beginning of the 1980s, Jean Portante has explored topics related to identity, from memory to forgetfulness, in various literary genres, especially poetry, the novel, drama and the essay. His literary style continues to evolve, marked by strong intertextuality, providing access to new interpretations and inciting pluralized reading." Mention was also made of Portante's efforts to "promote Luxembourg literature
Luxembourg literature
The literature of Luxembourg is little known beyond the country's borders, partly because Luxembourg authors write in one or more of the three official languages , partly because many works are specifically directed to a local readership...
both at home and abroad".
Awards
- 1986 Rutebeuf Prize for poetry, Horizon, vertige & italie intercalaire
- 1993 Tony Bourg Prize, Ouvert fermé (together with John Sorrento)
- 1994 Servais Prize, for Mrs Haroy ou la mémoire de la baleine
- 2003 Louis Montalto Poetry Award of the Society of Men of Letters, (for all his work)
- 2003 Mallarmé prizeMallarmé prizeThe Mallarmé prize is a poetry prize awarded each year by the Académie Mallarmé to a French speaking poet....
, for L’étrange langue - 2011 Batty Weber PrizeBatty Weber PrizeThe Batty Weber Prize or Prix Batty Weber is Luxembourg's national literary prize. It has been awarded every three years since 1987 to a Luxembourg writer for his entire literary work...
for his work as a whole
Novels
- Projets pour un naufrage prémédité. Ed. PHI, Luxembourg, 1987
- Un deux cha cha cha. Ed. PHI, Luxembourg, 1990
- Mrs Haroy ou la mémoire de la baleine, Editions PHI, Luxembourg, 1997
- Mourir partout sauf à Differdange. Roman. Editions PHI, Luxembourg, 2003
Poetry
- Feu et boue, Editions Caractères, Paris 1983
- L’instant des nœuds, Editions Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Paris 1984
- Méandres, Editions du Guichet, Paris 1985
- Horizon, vertige & italie intercalaire, Editions Arcam, Paris 1986 (Prix Rutebeuf)
- Ex-odes, Editions PHI, Luxembourg 1991
- Ouvert fermé, Editions PHI/L’Orange Bleue 1994
- Effaçonner, poèmes. Editions PHI/Ecrits des Forges. Luxembourg/Québec 1996
- Point. Poèmes. Editions PHI/L’Orange Bleue 1999.
- La morte del padre. En plein edizioni. Milan 1999
- La pluie comme un œil. Poèmes. Editions Empreintes, Lausanne 2001
- L’étrange langue. Poèmes. Editions Le Taillis Pré, Namur 2002 (Prix Mallarmé)
- L’arbre de la disparition, poèmes, Editions PHI/Ecrits des Forges, Luxembourg/Québec 2004
- La cendre des mots. Anthologie personnelle. Editions Le Castor Astral, Paris. Juin 2005.
- Le travail du poumon, Editions Le Castor Astral, Paris, mars 2007.
- Je veux dire, poème, Editions Estuaires, Luxembourg, novembre 2007
- En réalité, poème, Editions PHI, Luxembourg, juin 2008
External links
- Manfred Schmeling, Monika Schmitz-Emans, Multilinguale Literatur im 20. Jahrhundert, Verlag Königshausen & Neumann, 2002, p. 158 ff
- Bertrand Westphal, "Orpheus or the art of moving forward: time and history in the novels of Jean Portante:" Swiss journal of Romance Literature No. 29, 1996