Xavier Grall

Xavier Grall (1930–1981) was a journalist and poet from Brittany, France, who was a strong advocate of Breton nationalism^[1] during the Third Emsav. His work glorifies a mystical Brittany.

Early career

Xavier Grall was born in Landivisiau in Finistère, but moved to Paris. He worked as a journalist for Catholic publications, including the journals La Vie catholique, of which he was editor, and Témoignage chrétien. He also wrote for Le Monde and Bretagne.

Bretonism

Grall rediscovered his Breton identity in the 1970s, leaving Paris permanently in 1973, returning to Brittany to live at Bossulan Farm in Nizon, just outside Pont-Aven. Grall's reassertion of Breton identity followed a period of disillusionment with France following the Algerian War. He later wrote that the war undermined his belief in the idea of France:

I had done the Algerian War, in the wolfish sun my eyes were opened. Heartbreaking revelation. From Djebel Amour [in Algeria] to Montagnes Noires [in Brittany], there were similarities. Same tyrant: the French state. Same victim: the peasant. Same cops: CRS .... When we saw France torture, we could not put that song on the level to which we'd been lulled .... The image of France that I had formed, very high and almost mystical, found itself forever tarnished.

In response he defined himself as Breton in opposition to French identity:

You discover Bretonness as it is not allowed to be. ... And you think that your country does exist, dear God, terribly. You recover. You look straight ahead. You are decolonized. You are Berber, Kabyle, Breton.

From this point on his work emphasises a multicultural ideal, building a unique example of Breton literature in French.

Activism

With his friends Alain Guel and the protest singer Glenmor, he founded éditions Kelenn, where he published Barde imaginé (1968), Keltia Blues (1971), La Fête de la nuit (1972) and Rires et pleurs de l'Aven (1978). Alain Guel, who followed his early steps in literature, and kept up a voluminous correspondence with him, gave him support and friendship throughout his life.

Reconnecting with his past as a columnist, Grall published Le Cheval couché (the lounging horse), a scathing response to Pierre-Jakez Hélias's popular autobiographical novel Cheval d'orgueil (Horse of Pride),^[2] which he called "fossilized folkism". He also vilified earlier Breton poets and singers, notably Theodore Botrel, whom he described as the creator of a "pitiable" image of Brittany born "from the depths of his idiocy". Botrel later expressed regret for having written the book.

Grall continued to work from a distance for Le Monde and La Vie catholique. He published pamphlets and occasional pieces; Le Billet d'Olivier presented his passions and his moods on current topics. He also wrote essays on François Mauriac, James Dean and others.

In the early 1970s, Grall founded the Breton separatist newspaper Le Nation bretonne with Alain Guel and Glenmor, where he published lyrics under the pseudonym of "Saint HERBOTS", among others.

He died in Quimperlé in 1981.

Commemorations

A bronze sculpture to his memory stands on the Promenade Xavier Grall, on the banks of the river Aven in Pont-Aven.

Each year in Carhaix a Festival des Vieilles Charrues bears his name.

A literary prize was created in his name at the Festival de la Parole Poétique (Pays de Quimperlé). Le Prix Xavier-Grall is awarded to a poet for his life's work. Recipients have included:

Publications

James Dean et notre jeunesse, 1958
Mauriac journaliste, 1960
La génération du Djebel, 1962
Africa blues, 1962
Cantiques à Mélilla, 1964
Le rituel breton, 1965
Barde imaginé, Éditions KELENN, 1968
Keltia Blues, Éditions KELENN, 1971
Glenmor, 1972
La fête de la nuit, Éditions KELENN, 1972
Rires et pleurs de l'Aven, Éditions KELENN, 1978
La Sône des pluies et des tombes, Éditions Kelenn 1976
Le Cheval couché, 1977
Stèle pour Lamennais, 1978
Entendras-tu le vent chanter dans le grand chêne ?, 1979
Si loin de toi, Tristan…, 1979
Arthur Rimbaud, la marche au soleil, 1980
Solo et autres poèmes, 1981
Genèse et derniers poèmes, 1982
La marche des calvaires
Les vents m'ont dit, 1982
Et parlez-moi de la terre..., 1983
L'Inconnu me dévore, Calligrammes, 1984
Les billets d'Olivier, éditions Calligrammes, 1985
Chroniques de l'Indien I et II, 1995 et 1996
Mémoires de ronces et de galets, 2002. Textes donnés à la revue Sav Breizh. An Here. 2002
Au nom du père. Recueil de textes parus dans La Vie An Here. 2003, 486 p.
Œuvre Poétique, éditions Rougerie, 2010

References

^ Kuter, Lois (1985). "Labeling People: Who Are the Bretons?". Anthropological Quarterly. 58 (1): 13–29. doi:10.2307/3317743 – via JSTOR.
^ Winick, Stephen D. (1995). "Breton Folk Music, Breton Identity, and Alan Stivell's Again". The Journal of American Folklore. 108 (429): 334–354. doi:10.2307/541889 – via JSTOR.

[1] Kuter, Lois (1985). "Labeling People: Who Are the Bretons?". Anthropological Quarterly. 58 (1): 13–29. doi:10.2307/3317743 – via JSTOR.

[2] Winick, Stephen D. (1995). "Breton Folk Music, Breton Identity, and Alan Stivell's Again". The Journal of American Folklore. 108 (429): 334–354. doi:10.2307/541889 – via JSTOR.

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