Françoise Morvan (born 1958 in

Rostrenen Rostrenen (; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department and Brittany region of northwestern France. Geography Neighbouring communes Rostrenen is border by Mellionnec to the south, Plouguernevel to the east, Kergrist-Moëlou to the nor ...

Côtes-d'Armor The Côtes-d'Armor (, ; ; br, Aodoù-an-Arvor, ), formerly known as Côtes-du-Nord ( br, Aodoù-an-Hanternoz, link=no, ), are a department in the north of Brittany, in northwestern France. In 2019, it had a population of 600,582.

) is a French writer who specialises in Breton history and culture. She studied literature in Colombes, then at the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

. Her doctoral thesis was in French literature, discussing the work of

Armand Robin Armand Robin (January 19, 1912 – March 30, 1961) was a French poet, translator, and journalist. He joined the French Anarchist Federation in 1945, which published his ''Poèmes indésirables'' (Undesirable Poems). He authored "La fausse ...

. She later wrote another thesis on the work on

François-Marie Luzel François-Marie Luzel (6 June 1821 – 26 February 1895), often known by his Breton name ''Fañch an Uhel'',He signed his name as ''Francès-Mary an Uhel'' in the ''Les Chants de l'épée'' (1856), although Joseph Ollivier, in his 1943 preface to ...

. Her subsequent works typically fall into five different areas of literature:

Theatre

Her translation of

Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of realism, earlier ...

's ''

Desire Under the Elms ''Desire Under the Elms'' is a 1924 play written by Eugene O'Neill. Like ''Mourning Becomes Electra'', ''Desire Under the Elms'' signifies an attempt by O'Neill to adapt plot elements and themes of Greek tragedy to a rural New England setting. ...

'' led her to translate other dramatic literature, such as

John Millington Synge Edmund John Millington Synge (; 16 April 1871 – 24 March 1909) was an Irish playwright, poet, writer, collector of folklore, and a key figure in the Irish Literary Revival. His best known play ''The Playboy of the Western World'' was poorly r ...

and parts

Seán O'Casey Seán O'Casey ( ga, Seán Ó Cathasaigh ; born John Casey; 30 March 1880 – 18 September 1964) was an Irish dramatist and memoirist. A committed socialist, he was the first Irish playwright of note to write about the Dublin working classes. ...

. She has also created new translations of Chekhov and Shakespeare in collaboration with André Markowicz. She won the 2006 Molière prize for best theatrical adaptation with André Markowicz for her version of Chekhov's ''Platonov'', directed by Alain Francon. She also creates shows for Breton theatre troupes, notably ''Le Pain des âmes, D'un Buisson de ronces'' (''Spiritual Bread: of a Thornbush''). She also adapted the myth of ''Sainte Tryphine et le roi Arthur'' (" Saint Tryphine and King Arthur") from the writings of Luzel.

Critical editions

She published editions of the works of Armand Robin, including his manuscripts, which she first published in their full original form, which had previously been truncated. She has also published the prose works of François-Marie Luzel (eighteen volumes) by scrupulously adhering to Luzel's manuscripts, given in facsimile and always giving the original text where they exist in both the French and Breton languages (Tales of Brittany, Rennes University Press). She has also published works by

Danielle Collobert Danielle Collobert was a French author, poet and journalist. Biography Danielle Collobert was born in Rostrenen, Côtes-d'Armor on 23 July 1940. Her mother, a teacher, was obliged to live in a neighbouring village, and Collobert thus grew up a ...

, and has contributed over a hundred prefaces, articles and essays to scholarly editions of poetry and literature. She has also published translations of

Marie de France Marie de France ( fl. 1160 to 1215) was a poet, possibly born in what is now France, who lived in England during the late 12th century. She lived and wrote at an unknown court, but she and her work were almost certainly known at the royal court ...

and the poems of

Sylvia Plath Sylvia Plath (; October 27, 1932 – February 11, 1963) was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer. She is credited with advancing the genre of confessional poetry and is best known for two of her published collections, ''The ...

Children's literature

''La Gavotte du mille pattes'' (The thousand footed gavotte) was the first of her books of songs, followed by books of stories ''La Femme du loup gris'' (The Woman of the gray wolf), ''L'École des loisirs'' (School of recreation) and ''Lutins et lutines'' (Elves and goblins). She worked in collaboration with illustrators.

Folklore

Editing Luzel led her to continue her research in the folklore of the fantastic and supernatural, especially fairies and elves, as in ''Vie et mœurs des lutins Bretons'' (Life and manners of Breton elves) and ''La douce vie des fées des eaux'' (The sweet life of water-fairies). She considered authentic folk traditions to be an increasingly frail barrier against the commercialization of folklore. She aspired to authenticity by basing her studies on journals giving precise references and citing them specifically in the texts, while including her own form of humour and poetry based on these sources. She has expanded her work in folklore beyond Brittany to France as a whole and initiated the series "The Great Collections" published by ''

Ouest-France ''Ouest-France'' ( ; French for "West-France") is a daily French newspaper known for its emphasis on both local and national news. The paper is produced in 47 different editions covering events in different French départments within the régio ...

'': it has published the folk-story collections of Jean-François Blade (Gascony), of Amélie Bosquet (Normandy) and Henry Carnoy (Picardy).

Breton regionalism

Françoise Morvan has published a provisional autobiographical memoir, which is subtitled "drifting identity and nationalism in Brittany". She has published on the same theme an article which was reproduced by the Breton Information Group (Groupe information Bretagne, or GRIB), which she helped to found. She defended linguist

François Falc'hun François Falc'hun (20 April 1901 – 13 January 1991) was a French linguist known for his theories about the origin of the Breton language. He was also an ordained Canon in the Catholic clergy. Falc'hun was professor at the Universities of Renn ...

from numerous "telephone harassment campaigns" by Breton nationalists.Françoise Morvan, ''Le Monde comme si - Nationalisme et dérive identitaire en Bretagne'', Actes Sud, 2002, p 132. Her memoir "Le Monde comme si" (The world as if) caused controversy in Brittany because of its attacks on the Breton regionalist movement ( emsav). She discusses the arguments about the authenticity of ''

Barzaz Breiz ''Barzaz Breiz'' (in modern spelling ''Barzhaz Breizh'', meaning "Ballads of Brittany": ''barzh'' is the equivalent of "bard" and ''Breizh'' means "Brittany") is a collection of Breton popular songs collected by Théodore Hersart de la Villemar ...

'', the cultural and political movements in Brittany, their attitude during World War II, the creation of the unified Breton spelling, the Cultural Institute of Brittany, the subsidies given for the Breton language, the

Flag of Brittany The flag of Brittany ( br, Banniel Breiz; french: Drapeau de la Bretagne), a region in the northwest of France, is called the ''Gwenn-ha-du,'' pronounced , which means ''white and black'', in Breton (French ''blanc et noir''). The flag was desi ...

, among other things.

Principal publications

* by

: ** ''La Fausse parole'', reprint. ** ''Armand Robin''. n° spécial, revue Obsidiane, 1985 ** ''Écrits oubliés .1, essais critiques - Armand Robin''. UBACS, 1986 ** ''Écrits oubliés .2, traductions - Armand Robin''. UBACS, 1986 ** ''Poésie sans passeport'', Ubacs, 1989 ** ''Fragments'', Gallimard, 1992, ** ''Le Cycle du pays natal'', La part commune, 2000. * on

: ** ''

: bilan d'une recherche'', thèse d'État, Université de Lille III (Tomes 1-2-3), 2685 p, 1990 * by

, 18 volumes: ** ''Contes Bretons'' ** ''Contes populaires de Basse-Bretagne'' (3 vols) ** ''Contes inédits'' (3 vols) ** ''Contes du boulanger'' ** ''Journal de route'' ** ''Correspondence Luzel-Renan'' ** ''Contes retrouvés'' (2 vols) ** ''Veillées bretonnes'' ** ''Nouvelles veillées bretonnes'' * on

: ** ''François Marie Luzel. Enquête sur une expérience de collectage folklorique en Bretagne'' Presses Universitaires de

Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department ...

et Éditions Terre de Brume, 1994 * Publications on the great collections of French folk literature: ** Jean-François Bladé, ''Contes populaires de Gascogne'',

, 2004, ** Amélie Bosquet, ''Légendes de Normandie'', Ouest-France, 2004, ** Henry Carnoy, ''Contes de Picardie'', Ouest-France, 2005, ** Léon Pinault, ''Contes du Poitou'', Ouest-France, 2005. ** Félix Remize, Paul Sébillot, Henri Pourrat, ''Contes d'Auvergne'', Ouest-France, 2006. **

, ''Fantômes et dames blanches'', Ouest-France, 2007. **

, ''Contes de basse Bretagne'', Ouest-France, 2007. **

Paul Sébillot Paul Sébillot (6 February 1843 in Matignon, Côtes-d'Armor, France – 23 April 1918 in Paris) was a French folklorist, painter, and writer. Many of his works are about his native province, Brittany. Early life and art Sébillot came from an ...

, ''Contes de haute Bretagne'', Ouest-France, 2007. * Translations: ** ''Les Trois sœurs''.

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

; translated from Russian by André Markowicz and Françoise Morvan. Actes Sud, Collection Babel, 1992. ** ''La Cerisaie''. Anton Chekhov ; translated from Russian by André Markowicz and Françoise Morvan. Actes Sud, Collection Babel, 1993. ** ''L'Homme des bois''. Anton Chekhov ; translated from Russian by André Markowicz and Françoise Morvan. Actes Sud, Collection Babel, 1993. ** ''La Mouette''. Anton Chekhov ; translated from Russian by André Markowicz and Françoise Morvan. Actes Sud, Collection Babel, 1993. ** ''Oncle Vania''. Anton Chekhov ; translated from Russian by André Markowicz and Françoise Morvan. Actes Sud, Collection Babel, 1993. ** ''Ivanov I et II''. Anton Chekhov ; translated from Russian by André Markowicz and Françoise Morvan. Actes Sud, Collection Babel, 1995. ** ''Platovov''. Anton Chekhov ; translated from Russian by André Markowicz and Françoise Morvan. Les Solitaires intempestifs, 2004 ** '' Désir sous les ormes'', Eugène O'Neill, translated from English by Françoise Morvan (mise en scène by Mathias Langhoff) ** '' Long voyage du jour à la nuit'', Eugène O'Neill, translated from English by Françoise Morvan, preface and notes by Françoise Morvan, ed. de l'Arche. ** '' Nanny sort ce soir'', Seán O'Casey, translated from English by Françoise Morvan, preface and notes de Françoise Morvan, TNS, 2002. ** ''Théâtre complet. J.M. Synge'' ; translated from English by Françoise Morvan. Actes Sud, collection Babel, 1996, Les solitaires intempestifs, 2005. ** ''Le Songe d'une nuit d'été'' ; translated from English by André Markowicz and Françoise Morvan, presentation and notes de Françoise Morvan, éditions Les Solitaires intempestifs, 2004. ** ''Arbres d'hiver'', Syvia Plath, translation and notes by Françoise Morvan, Poésie/Gallimard. ** ''Quand la poésie jonglait avec l'image'', quatre livres pour enfants de Samuel Marchak translations by Françoise Morvan, édition MeMo, Nantes, 2005. ** "P'tigars-P'tidoigt", conté par Alexandre Afanassiev, illustré par Étienne Beck, et traduit par Françoise Morvan et André Markowicz, éditions Memo, Nantes, 2007. * ''Vie et mœurs des lutins Bretons'', Actes Sud, collection Babel, 1998, * ''La douce vie des fées des eaux'', Actes Sud, collection Babel, 1999, * ''La Gavotte du mille-pattes'', Actes-Sud, 1996 * ''Lutins et lutines'', librio, 2001, * ''Les Lais de Marie de France'', Librio, 2002. * Essays: ** '' Le Monde comme si - Nationalisme et dérive identitaire en Bretagne'', Actes Sud, 2002, réédition Babel, 2005. * Henri Fréville, ''Archives secrètes de Bretagne, 1940-1944'',

, Rennes, 1985 (réédité en 2004 et 2008, édition revue et corrigée par Françoise Morvan), .

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morvan, Francoise 20th-century French historians Paris-Sorbonne University alumni Rennes 2 University alumni Living people 1958 births People from Côtes-d'Armor Breton-language writers French women historians 21st-century French historians