Aloysius Bertrand

Christophe Ippolito (Georgia Institute of Technology)

Ed. by Tim Unwin, University of Bristol
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.5.2.05: French Writing and Culture: The Nineteenth-Century , 1800-1900.
Vol. editors: David Elwyn Evans (University of St Andrews), Edward Forman (University of Bristol), Elisabeth Gerwin (University of Lethbridge), Nigel Harkness (University of Newcastle upon Tyne), Tim Unwin (University of Bristol), David Williams (University of Sheffield), Jennifer Yee (University of Oxford)

Dates

Born 20 Apr 1807
Died 29 Apr 1841
Activity 1827-1841

Places

Born in Italy
Active in France

Activities

Primary

Poet

Other

Journalist
Playwright / Dramatist

Resources

Bertrand's Works

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The Romantic poet Aloysius Bertrand is mainly known as the author of a beautifully crafted collection of poems,

Gaspard de la nuit

. This book introduced France to what would become a new and extraordinarily fruitful literary genre: the prose poem. However Bertrand, truly an emblematic “poète maudit” (cursed poet), was never able to capitalize on this original work as it was published posthumously in 1842, one year after his untimely death. Despite having been admitted to the literary salons of such pre-eminent figures as Charles Nodier and Victor Hugo, he led an existence of relative obscurity as a journalist in Dijon and in Paris, often working for less than a subsistence wage; his last years in Paris were plagued with health problems aggravated by deep poverty and separation from…

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1243 words

Citation: Ippolito, Christophe. "Aloysius Bertrand". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 March 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=12038, accessed 24 November 2024.]