« Le vent se lève! »*
In France, unlike in the United States where poetry is sometimes highlighted during presidential inaugurations, poetry is less commonly heard at major public occasions. Yet a few names stand out in the pantheon of French authors, and Paul Valéry (1871- 1945) is one of them.
An important figure of the first half of the 20th century, somewhat forgotten today, Paul Valéry was born in Sète. A friend of Gide, a great intellectual devoted to precision and eager to think for himself, he wrote one of his most famous poems celebrating the cemetery of Sète —now known by the name of the poem—overlooking the sea.
« Ce toit tranquille, où marchent des colombes,
Entre les pins palpite, entre les tombes ;
Midi le juste y compose de feux
La mer, la mer, toujours recommencée ! »
“This quiet roof, where dove-sails saunter by,
Between the pines, the tombs, throbs visibly.
Impartial noon patterns the sea in flame —
That sea forever starting and re-starting.”
First stanza of Le Cimetière marin, Œuvres de Paul Valéry, Éditions de la N.R.F., 1933.
The Graveyard by the Sea, Translation by C. Day Lewis
We encountered Paul Valéry in Sète, a city that is also native of Jean Vilar, founder of the festival d’Avignon, and of Georges Brassens, the celebrated singer-poet. All were nurtured by Sète in the gentle, inspiring Mediterranean breeze.
*Famous quotation of Le Cimetière marin, the last stanza starting with « Le vent se lève! . . . il faut tenter de vivre! » (“The wind is rising! . . . We must try to live!”)
Paul Valéry, Sète’s own poet – photo by Henri Manuel (cropped). Source: Picryl (public domain).
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