Pierre Pascal (16 April 1909 – 13 January 1990) was a French poet, essayist, Iranologist and translator. He was the only son of chemist Paul Pascal.

Biography

In 1933 he began publishing the review ''Eurydice'' and founded the publishing firm Éditions du Trident. During the German occupation, he was chief editor for ''La voix de France'' and inspector general of radio for the Vichy government, for which he was sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment with penal labor. Left France in 1944 and sought asylum in Italy, in April 1945 at the

Vittoriale degli italiani The Vittoriale degli italiani (English translation: ''The shrine of victories of the Italians'') is a hillside estate in the town of Gardone Riviera overlooking Lake Garda in province of Brescia, in Lombardy. It is where the Italian poet and nove ...

(in Gardone Riviera, Lombardy) and then in Rome; remained in Roman exile until his death; named chancellor of the Imperial Embassy of Iran to the Holy See. In Rome he founded, with the architect

Luigi Moretti Luigi Walter Moretti (2 January 1907 – 14 July 1973) was an Italian architect. Active especially in Italy since the thirties, he designed buildings such as the Watergate Complex in Washington DC, The Academy of Fencing, and ''Il Girasole'' (" ...

, a new publishing firm, Éditions du Cœur fidèle. In 1950 he published a collection of 55 haïkaïses and tankas, ''In morte di un Samurai'', in memory of the general

Hideki Tojo Hideki Tojo (, ', December 30, 1884 – December 23, 1948) was a Japanese politician, general of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA), and convicted war criminal who served as prime minister of Japan and president of the Imperial Rule Assistan ...

, executed for hanging on 23 December 1948.

Maurice Delage Maurice Charles Delage (13 November 1879 – 19 or 21 September 1961) was a French composer and pianist. Biography Delage was born and died in Paris. He first worked as a clerk for a maritime agency in Paris, and later as a fishmonger in Boul ...

composed a work for baritone and chamber orchestra based on Pascal's ''In morte di un Samurai''. Pascal made a French translation – «a work of philological reconstruction» in the personal view of

Mario Praz Mario Praz (; September 6, 1896, Rome – March 23, 1982, Rome) was an Italian-born critic of art and literature, and a scholar of English literature. His best-known book, ''The Romantic Agony'' (1933), was a comprehensive survey of the decadent ...

of the ''

Quatrains A quatrain is a type of stanza, or a complete poem, consisting of four lines. Existing in a variety of forms, the quatrain appears in poems from the poetic traditions of various ancient civilizations including Persia, Ancient India, Ancient Greec ...

'' by

Omar Khayyam Ghiyāth al-Dīn Abū al-Fatḥ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm Nīsābūrī (18 May 1048 – 4 December 1131), commonly known as Omar Khayyam ( fa, عمر خیّام), was a polymath, known for his contributions to mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, an ...

. The edition is mainly based on a manuscript kept at the University of Cambridge library, along with the Chester Beatty of Dublin (the codex kahyyamien by

Mohammad Ali Foroughi Mohammad Ali Foroughi ( fa, محمدعلی فروغی; early August 1877 – 26 or 27 November 1942), also known as Zoka-ol-Molk ( Persian: ذُکاءُالمُلک), was a writer, diplomat and politician who served three terms as Prime Mini ...

) - both of them considered late forgeries- and two manuscripts kept at the

Bibliothèque Nationale A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

in Paris.

Awards

* 1935 Prix Paul Verlaine de la Maison de la poésie * 1936 Prix Saint-Cricq-Theis de l'

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

pour ''Dunkerque, croiseur cuirassé'' * 1940 Prix Max Barthou de l'

Works

* ''Pean naval pour célébrer la naissance du croiseur-cuirassé Dunkerque et son augural baptême'', Éditions du Trident (1935) * ''Ode liturgique à Paris citadelle des justes arche de paix capitale du royaume'', frontispice de Maxime Real Del Sarte, Aux Éditions du Trident (1937) * ''Éloge perpétuel de la Sybylle d'Érythrée et de César Auguste, fondateur de l'Empire'', Éditions du Trident (1938) * ''Pierre Pascal, Chant funèbre pour les cadets de l'Alcazar'', Clermont-Ferrand, F. Sorlot (1941) * ''Mussolini alla vigilia della sua morte e l'Europa : colloquio con il poeta francese Pierre Pascal (2 aprile 1945)'', L'arnia (1948) * ''In morte di un Samurai ; seguito da l'Apologia per un fiore di Camelia bianca'', Diamante (1950) * ''Le livre de Job: épopée biblique en 42 chapitres, à la gloire de la sainte bienheureuse patience'', préface de Gilbert Keith Chesterton, Par les éditions du Cœur fidèle (1967) * ''Discours sur les abominations de la Nouvelle Église'', préface de

József Mindszenty József Mindszenty (; 29 March 18926 May 1975) was a Hungarian cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Esztergom and leader of the Catholic Church in Hungary from 1945 to 1973. According to the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', ...

, Éditions du Baucens (1976) * ''Maurras: Honori et Vindictae Sacrum'', Éditions de Chiré (1986) * ''Risoluzione aritmetica del Memento mori cifrato di santa Teresa d'Avila. Insieme alla primissima Cantio sanctae Teresiae'', Edizioni del Tridente (1978)

References

Bibliography

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pascal, Pierre 1909 births 1990 deaths People from Nord (French department) French Iranologists French male poets Translators of Omar Khayyám 20th-century French essayists