Youenn Gwernig (10 May 1925 – 29 August 2006; born in
Scaër
Scaër (; ) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France.
Population
Inhabitants of Scaër are called in French ''Scaërois''. Scaër's population peaked at 7,838 in 1946 and declined to 5,295 in 2019. This rep ...
,
Douarnenez
Douarnenez (, ; meaning ''douar'' (land) ''an enez'' (the island) or land of the island), is a commune in the French department of Finistère, region of Brittany, northwestern France.
It is located at the mouth of the Pouldavid River, an estuar ...
) was a
Breton-American poet, writer and singer. He was a painter, sculptor and a TV presenter on the French channel
France 3.
He was born in 1925 in the town of Scaër (
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 o ...
). He moved to the
United States in the late 1950s and became an American citizen. He returned 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 o ...
in the late 60s. Influenced by traditional Breton culture, American pop culture and the
Beat Generation
The Beat Generation was a literary Subculture, subculture movement started by a group of authors whose work explored and influenced Culture of the United States, American culture and Politics of the United States, politics in the post-war era. T ...
he knew through his friendship with
Jack Kerouac, he wrote poetry and songs in
Breton and English.
Life
He was born in 1925, into a traditional Breton family, in Scaër. He first worked as a wood sculptor. In the early 1950s he met the Breton poet and singer
Glenmor, with whom he set a music band called Breizh a gan ("Brittany sings" in Breton language) which was the first cultural Breton band after
World War II. This band set an operetta called ''Genovefa'' ("Genevieve" in Breton).
He went to the US in 1957 because of the poverty in Brittany as he explained in his song ''Tap da sac'h 'ta'' ("Keep your bag so"). From 1961, he regularly visited the West Side neighbourhood of
New York City and met the Beat Generation writers there. He became a friend of Jack Kerouac and lived in the
Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
, where he wrote some bilingual poems in Breton and in English about New York or his nostalgy of Brittany in an American big city, as ''Un dornad plu'' ("A handful of feathers", 1961) or ''War ribl ar stêr Harlem'' ("On the bank of Harlem river", August 1963). In 1968, he wrote a poems' collection called ''New York City blues'' in which there are poems about some places in New York and the way he saw them as ''125vet straed'' ("125th street"), ''Uptown-Downtown'' or ''El barrio''. In the 1997's Al Liamm edition of ''Un dornad plu'', Youenn Gwernig explained why he used to write his poems in Breton and to translate them in English :
''"Meeting with Jack Kerouac in 1965, for instance, was a decisive turn. Since he could not speak Breton he asked me : "Would you not write some of your poems in English, I'd really like to read them !..." So I wrote an Diri Dir - Stairs of Steel for him, and kept on doing so. That's why I often write my poems in Breton, French and English."''
He used to send his poems to the Breton library
Al Liamm
''Al Liamm'' (Breton language for "The Link") is a bimonthly magazine of culture and literature in the Breton language.
History
The first issue of ''Al Liamm'' was published in 1946. The initial magazine was created in Paris by Pêr ar Bihan and ...
.
He returned to Brittany in 1969 with his wife (Suzig) and his daughters (Annaïg, Gwenola and Marie). He released his first disc in 1971. He released the album ''Distro ar Gelted'' ("Come back the Celtic people") in 1974. He became famous with his song ''E-kreiz an noz'' ("In the middle of the night")
He wrote a novel in French in 1982, ''La grande tribu'' ("The great tribe" in French language), where he described his life in the USA. His poetry was issued in 1972 (''An toull en nor'') and in 1976 (''An diri dir'').
In the 1970s, he created the ''Radio télé Brezhoneg'' ("Breton language Broadcasting") association which aimed to stand up for the Breton language on TV. He also hosted Breton emissions in the 1990s, with the singer
Nolwenn Korbell
Nolwenn Korbell (; born 3 February 1968 in Quimper, Finistère), is a French Breton singer-songwriter.
Best known for her songs in Breton, with her musicians or in a duet with guitarist Soïg Sibéril, she released four albums, regularly perfo ...
for instance.
In 1990 his album ''Emañ ar bed va iliz'' ("The world is my church") was released. In 2002, a second novel, ''Appelez-moi ange'' ("Call me angel" in French Language), was issued. He died in 2006.
Discography
* 1971 : ''Les bougnoules - Gavotte du joint'' ("The Arabs - The Joint's dance" in french)
* 1973 : ''Ni hon unan! - Tap da sac'h'' ("We, ourselves ! - Get your bag" in Breton)
* 1974 : ''Distro ar Gelted'' ("Come back the Celt people" in Breton), LP Arfolk
* 1975 : ''E-kreiz an noz'' ("In the middle of the night" in Breton), LP Velia
* 1979 : ''Youenn Gwernig'', Private People, LP
* 1990 : ''Emañ ar bed va iliz'' ("The world is my church" in Breton), CD
* 1994 : ''Foeter Bro / Just a traveller / Compagnon de route'', CD
* 2003 : ''Identity'', Coop Breizh (Best of)
Books
* ''An toull en nor'' (bilingual breton-english, litt. ''The door's hole''), Ar Majenn éditions, 1972.
* ''An diri dir / Les escaliers d’acier / Stairs of steel'' (trilingual Breton-French-English), Ar Majenn éditions, 1976.
* ''La grande tribu'', (French, ''The great Tribe'') Grasset,1982.
* ''Un dornad plu / A handful of feathers'' (Breton and English),
Al Liamm
''Al Liamm'' (Breton language for "The Link") is a bimonthly magazine of culture and literature in the Breton language.
History
The first issue of ''Al Liamm'' was published in 1946. The initial magazine was created in Paris by Pêr ar Bihan and ...
, 1997.
* ''Appelez-moi Ange'' (French, ''Call me angel'') ), Blanc Silex, 2002.
Youenn Gwernig's books on Amazon
/ref>
* ''Kerouac city blues'' with Jacques Josse, Daniel Biga, Alain Jégou...
Notes
Bibliography
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gwernig, Youenn
1925 births
Writers from Brittany
Poets from Brittany
2006 deaths
People from Finistère
American people of Breton descent
Breton-language singers
French male poets
20th-century French poets
20th-century French male singers
20th-century French male writers
French emigrants to the United States