Youenn Drezen
Encyclopedia
Youenn Drezen is the Breton language
name of Yves Le Drézen, a Breton nationalist writer and activist. He is also known as Corentin Cariou and Tin Gariou.
, Finistère
into a poor family. His father died in 1911, leaving eight children to be raised by his young widow. Taken in by Catholic missionaries, he moved to Spain as a seminarian, living in the Basque region and then Castille. He met Jakez Riou and while conducting literary, scientific and religious studies, they explored the literary potential of the Breton language, aspiring to give it a refined form unsullied by convention.
Having abandoned his religious training, he met, while on military service in Rennes
, officials of the nationalist group Unvaniezh Yaouankiz Breiz, which led to the publication of his first article in support of Breton nationalism in the journal Breiz Atao
.
, Yann Sohier, Jakez Riou, Abeozen
, and Marcel Guieysse, under the banner of Breiz Atao. He later worked for Gwalarn
, the literary magazine founded in 1922 by Roparz Hemon
and Olier Mordrel
, where he established himself by publishing Breton translations from Spanish (Calderon) and ancient Greek (Aeschylus). He also published his own poetry, notably Nozvez arkus e beg an enezenn (Night Watch at the Edge of the Island), written in memory of Jakez Riou in 1938.
He also translated books for children, for example Beatrix Potter
. These were published by Gwalarn, and were distributed free in schools to children who had participated in essay competitions in the Breton language.
Drezen's translations led to a full-time career as a writer. He produced a rich and varied oeuvre of poems, novels and plays, always written entirely in Breton. Some novels have been translated into French (by Pierre Jakez Hélias among others). He is considered one of the best writers in Breton, because he knew how to mix vivid expression with a quest for literary perfection, sometimes through euphony.
He joined the Breton art and literary movement Seiz Breur
. His Breton epic Kan da Gornog was published with important illustrations by René-Yves Creston
.
, an organ of the Breton National Party
. He also wrote for Mordrel's Stur, Galv (edited by Henri Le Helloco) and in Yann Fouéré
's La Bretagne.
In 1941, he published the first full-length novel in Breton, Itron Varia Garmez, which was about the lives of ordinary people in Pont-l'Abbé during the Great Depression
(French edition, Denoël, 1943, as Notre-Dame Bigoudenn). It was also illustrated by Creston. Shortly afterwards, he freelanced for Radio Rennes Bretagne
, writing radio plays and giving talks.
In 1943, he edited the bilingual newspaper Arvor. In this paper wrote many anti-American articles about the bombing of Nantes
, which reflected widespread local resentment of the attacks. He was arrested in 1944, but released after a few months.
in 1972.
Breton language
Breton is a Celtic language spoken in Brittany , France. Breton is a Brythonic language, descended from the Celtic British language brought from Great Britain to Armorica by migrating Britons during the Early Middle Ages. Like the other Brythonic languages, Welsh and Cornish, it is classified as...
name of Yves Le Drézen, a Breton nationalist writer and activist. He is also known as Corentin Cariou and Tin Gariou.
Youth
He was born in Pont-l'AbbéPont-l'Abbé
Pont-l'Abbé is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France.The self-styled capital of Pays Bigouden , Pont-l'Abbé was founded in the 14th century by a monk of Loctudy who built the first bridge across the river estuary, hence the name...
, Finistère
Finistère
Finistère is a département of France, in the extreme west of Brittany.-History:The name Finistère derives from the Latin Finis Terræ, meaning end of the earth, and may be compared with Land's End on the opposite side of the English Channel...
into a poor family. His father died in 1911, leaving eight children to be raised by his young widow. Taken in by Catholic missionaries, he moved to Spain as a seminarian, living in the Basque region and then Castille. He met Jakez Riou and while conducting literary, scientific and religious studies, they explored the literary potential of the Breton language, aspiring to give it a refined form unsullied by convention.
Having abandoned his religious training, he met, while on military service in Rennes
Rennes
Rennes is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France. Rennes is the capital of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department.-History:...
, officials of the nationalist group Unvaniezh Yaouankiz Breiz, which led to the publication of his first article in support of Breton nationalism in the journal Breiz Atao
Breiz Atao
Breiz Atao , was a Breton nationalist journal in the mid-twentieth century. The term is also used for the broader movement associated with the journal's political position....
.
Literary career
In 1924, he became a journalist with the Courrier du Finistère. He participated in the Quimper Pan-Celtic Congress of 1924, with François DebeauvaisFrançois Debeauvais
François Debeauvais was a Breton nationalist and wartime collaborator with Nazi Germany. His name is also spelled in many "Breton" variants: François Debauvais, Fransez Debeauvais, Fransez Debauvais, Fañch Debeauvais, Fañch Debauvais, Fañch deb.-Breiz Atao:Debeauvais was the son of a gardener from...
, Yann Sohier, Jakez Riou, Abeozen
Abeozen
François Eliès, born Fañch Eliès and better known by the pseudonym Abeozen, was a Breton nationalist, novelist and dramatist who wrote in the Breton language. Abeozen was also a noted scholar of the Welsh language.Abeozen started contributing to the Breton literary journal Gwalarn in 1925...
, and Marcel Guieysse, under the banner of Breiz Atao. He later worked for Gwalarn
Gwalarn
Gwalarn was a Breton language literary journal. By extension, the term refers to the style of literature that it encouraged. 166 issues appeared between 1925 and May 1944....
, the literary magazine founded in 1922 by Roparz Hemon
Roparz Hemon
Roparz Hemon , officially named Louis-Paul Némo, was a Breton author and scholar of Breton expression.He was the author of numerous dictionaries, grammars, poems and short stories...
and Olier Mordrel
Olier Mordrel
Olier Mordrel is the Breton language version of Olivier Mordrelle, a Breton nationalist and wartime collaborator with the Third Reich who founded the separatist Breton National Party. Before the war he worked as an architect. His architectural work was influenced by Art Deco and the International...
, where he established himself by publishing Breton translations from Spanish (Calderon) and ancient Greek (Aeschylus). He also published his own poetry, notably Nozvez arkus e beg an enezenn (Night Watch at the Edge of the Island), written in memory of Jakez Riou in 1938.
He also translated books for children, for example Beatrix Potter
Beatrix Potter
Helen Beatrix Potter was an English author, illustrator, natural scientist and conservationist best known for her imaginative children’s books featuring animals such as those in The Tale of Peter Rabbit which celebrated the British landscape and country life.Born into a privileged Unitarian...
. These were published by Gwalarn, and were distributed free in schools to children who had participated in essay competitions in the Breton language.
Drezen's translations led to a full-time career as a writer. He produced a rich and varied oeuvre of poems, novels and plays, always written entirely in Breton. Some novels have been translated into French (by Pierre Jakez Hélias among others). He is considered one of the best writers in Breton, because he knew how to mix vivid expression with a quest for literary perfection, sometimes through euphony.
He joined the Breton art and literary movement Seiz Breur
Seiz Breur
Seiz Breur was an artistic movement founded in 1923 in Brittany. Although it adopted the symbolic name seiz breur, meaning seven brothers in the Breton language, this did not refer to the number of members, but to the title of a folk-story...
. His Breton epic Kan da Gornog was published with important illustrations by René-Yves Creston
René-Yves Creston
René-Yves Creston , born René Pierre Joseph Creston, was a Breton artist, designer and ethnographer who founded the Breton nationalist art movement Seiz Breur...
.
World War II
During World War II, Drezen regularly published anti-Semitic and pro-Hitler articles in the collaborationist periodical L'Heure BretonneL'Heure Bretonne
L'Heure Bretonne was a Breton nationalist weekly newspaper which was published from June 1940 to June 1944. It was the organ of the Breton National Party and was strongly associated with collaborationist politics during World War II....
, an organ of the Breton National Party
Breton National Party
The Breton National Party was a nationalist party in Brittany that existed from 1931 to 1944. The party was disbanded after the liberation of France in World War II, because of ties to the Nazi party....
. He also wrote for Mordrel's Stur, Galv (edited by Henri Le Helloco) and in Yann Fouéré
Yann Fouéré
Yann Fouéré was a Breton nationalist and an European federalist. He was born as Jean-Adolphe Fouéré in Aignan, Gers....
's La Bretagne.
In 1941, he published the first full-length novel in Breton, Itron Varia Garmez, which was about the lives of ordinary people in Pont-l'Abbé during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
(French edition, Denoël, 1943, as Notre-Dame Bigoudenn). It was also illustrated by Creston. Shortly afterwards, he freelanced for Radio Rennes Bretagne
Radio Rennes Bretagne
Radio Rennes Bretagne was a radio station based in Rennes, and the first station to have regular Breton language programming. However, it was not powerful enough to broadcast to the Breton-speaking western parts of the peninsular...
, writing radio plays and giving talks.
In 1943, he edited the bilingual newspaper Arvor. In this paper wrote many anti-American articles about the bombing of Nantes
Nantes
Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the 6th largest in France, while its metropolitan area ranks 8th with over 800,000 inhabitants....
, which reflected widespread local resentment of the attacks. He was arrested in 1944, but released after a few months.
After the war
After the war he remained in Nantes, where he ran a café. He continued to write for Al Liamm, the journal that succeeded Gwalarn. He also wrote an autobiographical novel Skol Louarn Veïg Trebern about his impoverished youth. He died in LorientLorient
Lorient, or L'Orient, is a commune and a seaport in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France.-History:At the beginning of the 17th century, merchants who were trading with India had established warehouses in Port-Louis...
in 1972.