L'ami Prévert à Madingley

What a magical weekend at Madingley Hall that was.  The beautiful surroundings helped of course but so did being in the company of Jacques Prévert, the most celebrated of French poets of the XXth century (1900-1977).  Prévert sailed through life no matter how stormy his was, with style, his inimitable style, beaming with love, laughter and joie de vivre surrounded by the most celebrated artists of his time (most of them totally unknown then) such as Yves Tanguy, Desnos, André Breton, Aragon, Picasso, and scores of others forming around him “La bande à Prévert” .  He never took himself seriously but others did who gathered the poems he had written over the years, given to friends or sent to various magazines.  That compilation was published in 1945 under the title of “Paroles”, his first book that made him famous overnight.  The title was well chosen as “paroles” in French means “spoken words” and that’s exactly what Prévert did all his life, from childhood onwards. He talked, amused, entertained and inspired his family and friends constantly.  He also protested, contested, criticised and fought for his ideas, always with words.   Prévert wrote as he spoke and very eloquently at that, although the words were simple and the images poetic and moving.  He reached a wide audience immediately. His poems were set to music by Joseph Kosma and singers such as 
Yves Montand or Edith Piaf made them even more popular. 

Some songs were heard in Marcel Carné’s  most celebrated films “Les feuilles mortes” (known as “Autumn leaves”) for example and “Les enfants qui s’aiment” in “Les portes de la nuit”.  « Démons et merveilles »  in « Les visiteurs du soir ».  Prévert had also written the dialogues for these.  He had done so for another equally major film of the period: « Les Enfants du Paradis”.  People knew the songs and the films even when they didn’t know the name of Prévert.  These are only a few of his many accomplishments as he was altogether a playwright, an artist, a political activist, an entertainer, a poet and the most faithful of friends.   He spent most of his life in the heart of Paris in Saint-Germain de Prés where he was born and grew up in dire conditions. Friend of the great photographer Robert Doisneau who shared his long walks through Paris, he happens to be one of the most photographed celebrities in France.  “L’ami  Prévert” as he was called is the person we discovered at the weekend.  We were able to read, see and even hear him.  We read his poems and listened to his songs.  We watched his films and his beautiful cartoons, “Le petit soldat” and “Le roi et l’oiseau” made with Paul Grimault.  We set our eyes on his “collages” and found ourselves totally involved in creating our own poems and pictures.  He was such an inspiration to all! And then as Tim said at the end of the course, we left Madingley “ en sortant de la colle”, with a head full of music, images, words and birds and a heart filled with the memories of Jacques Prévert who would probably laugh at the thought of his having become a “classic”.

At our next gathering for an Intermediate French Course this time, to take place on July 14th (how appropriate!) we'll take a look at the way the French enjoy their holidays. For further details contact Madingley Hall directly.