Georgette Marie Philippart Travers (

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, 7 January 1908 –

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of ...

, 1984), French writer and poet. She was the wife of the

Peruvian Peruvians ( es, peruanos) are the citizens of Peru. There were Andean and coastal ancient civilizations like Caral, which inhabited what is now Peruvian territory for several millennia before the Spanish conquest of Peru, Spanish conquest in th ...

poet

César Vallejo César Abraham Vallejo Mendoza (March 16, 1892 – April 15, 1938) was a Peruvian poet, writer, playwright, and journalist. Although he published only two books of poetry during his lifetime, he is considered one of the great poetic innovators ...

of international fame, considered by

Mario Benedetti Mario Orlando Hardy Hamlet Brenno Benedetti Farrugia (; 14 September 1920 – 17 May 2009), was an Uruguayan journalist, novelist, and poet and an integral member of the Generación del 45. Despite publishing more than 80 books and being publish ...

to be a "human paradigm", while the American poet-

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

Thomas Merton points out that "the project for the translation of his poetry is of an urgent and enormous importance for the entire human race."

Biography

Georgette Marie Philippart Travers, was born in Paris on 7 January 1908. Her parents were Alexandre Jean Baptiste Philippart and Marie Travers. When Georgette was six years old, her father died fighting off the German Army in the Battle of the Marne

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

on 7 September 1914. Before his passing, he sent a letter home, where he recognized Georgette Marie as his daughter. Because of the war, she was sent to

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

where she completed her elementary education in Vitré. She continued her secondary education in the Sevigné School in Vitré, and graduated in 1922. Upon the completion of her studies, she moved to París to work in a seamstress shop with her mother. In 1925, she began one of the most interesting moments of her life: A fortune-teller read her destiny and announced that a "Prince Charming would come from afar. He has crossed the seas. He is ugly, but is a luminary being. You will always be the first person on his mind.". The famous and long-awaited "Prince Charming" was no one less than a man, who with the passage of time would become a leader in world literature: César Abraham Vallejo Mendoza. The 31-year-old poet had come to Paris on 13 July 1923, and was writing in the "Grands journaux Ibero-Americaines," living on Molière Street, where he would first see Georgette from a window in the front of his room. Although she was only 17, she made a huge impression on him. In 1927 when Cesar Vallejo eventually talked to her he was much older and lived in her neighborhood. This was also the year of his first trip to

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. The two eventually became lovers, much to the dismay of her mother. Georgette traveled with Vallejo to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

the end of December 1930 and returned in January 1932, when she became very ill and required an operation. Back in Paris Vallejo married Georgette Philippart in 1934. She remained a controversial figure concerning the publication of Vallejo's works for many years after his death. {{DEFAULTSORT:Vallejo, Georgette 1908 births 1984 deaths 20th-century French poets 20th-century French women writers French emigrants to Peru French Anti-Francoists