Félix Gras (, ;

Malemort-du-Comtat Malemort-du-Comtat (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region in southeastern France. See also *Communes of the Vaucluse department Referen ...

, May 3, 1844 –

Avignon Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the Communes of France, commune had a ...

, March 4, 1901) was a Provençal poet and

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

Biography

Gras was born into a farming family and went to secondary school at the college of Sainte Garde, in Saint Didier. He studied

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

as a clerk to the

notary A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is distin ...

Jules Giéia in Avignon, later becoming a notary himself, but also enthusiastically attended poetry meetings where he read his first poems. Soon abandoning his law training, Gras published ''Lei Carbonièrs'' (''The Charcoal Burners''), a rustic

epic poem In poetry, an epic is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. With regard to ...

in twelve cantos, in 1876, noted for its "elemental passion" and scenic descriptions, for which he gained immediate recognition. In 1879, he married the niece of

Joseph Roumanille Joseph Roumanille (; 8 August 1818 – 24 May 1891) was a Provençal poet. He was born at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence (Bouches-du-Rhône), and is commonly known in southern France as the father of the Félibrige, for he first conceived the idea of r ...

, the husband of his sister Rose Anaïs. His next work, ''Tolosa'', an epic poem about the invasion of the

Albigenses Catharism ( ; from the , "the pure ones") was a Christian quasi-dualist and pseudo-Gnostic movement which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France, between the 12th and 14th centuries. Denounced as a her ...

Simon de Montfort Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, 1st Earl of Chester ( – 4 August 1265), also known as Simon V de Montfort, was an English nobleman of French origin and a member of the English peerage, who led the baronial opposition to the rule of ...

, came in 1882, to further acclaim. He produced a volume of short poems, ''Lei Romancèras Provençals'', in 1887, followed by a collection of prose stories, ''La Papalina'', in 1891. In 1891, succeeding

, Gras was elected as the third president of the

Félibrige The ''Félibrige'' (; in classical Occitan, in Mistralian spelling, ) is a literary and cultural association founded in 1854 by Frédéric Mistral and other Provençal writers to defend and promote the Occitan language (also called the ) and ...

, a literary and cultural association founded by

Frédéric Mistral Joseph Étienne Frédéric Mistral (; , 8 September 1830 – 25 March 1914) was an Occitan writer and lexicographer of the Provençal form of the language. He received the 1904 Nobel Prize in Literature "in recognition of the fresh origina ...

(its first president) and other Provençal writers to defend and promote Provençal Occitan and Provençal literature. He held this post until his death. Gras achieved popular success in 1896 with the novel ''Lei Roge dau Miègjorn'', which was translated into

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

as ''Les Rouges du Midi'' ("the Reds of the

Midi Musical Instrument Digital Interface (; MIDI) is an American-Japanese technical standard that describes a communication protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, ...

"). It was praised by former

British prime minister The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet, and selects its ministers. Modern pri ...

William Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he was Prime Minister ...

, and was subsequently published in several other languages. He then wrote two more tales dealing with the late period of the French Revolution: ''La Terror'' ("The Terror") and ''La Terror Blanca'' ("The White Terror"), the latter of which features

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

as a character). Baker, Ernest A., ''A Guide to Historical Fiction''. London : G. Routledge and Sons, 1914.(pg. 272) This series is considered by some to be the most remarkable prose work in the Provençal language. The epitaph on his tomb, in his native town of Malemort, reads:

''Amo moun village maï que toun village, amo ma Provenço maï que ta province, amo la Franço maï que tout!''

"I love my village more than your village, I love my
Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...
more than your ''province,'' I love France more than anything!"

Notes

References

External links

Félix Gras, poète et écrivain provençal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gras, Felix 1844 births 1901 deaths People from Vaucluse Occitan-language writers French poets French novelists French historical novelists Writers of historical fiction set in the early modern period Writers of historical fiction set in the modern age