(1899-1988) poet, essayist
French poet and essayist Francis Ponge was born in Montpellier, France, on March 27. He first studied law in Paris and then literature in Strasbourg. In the years between World War I and World War II, he worked as a journalist and newspaper editor. In 1937, Ponge became a member of the Communist Party. He was actively involved during World War II in the organization of a resistance movement among journalists. He left the party in 1947 and lived for two years in Algeria prior to returning to Paris to teach. He retired in 1965 to give lectures in several countries.
Ponge’s poetry first gained attention in the late 1940s when it was praised in an article by Jean Paul sartre. Ponge’s poems were meticulous observations rather than emotional works. He described his ideas in rational terms that still remained lyrical. His collections include The Voice of Things (1942; translated 1972) and La Rage de l’expression (1952). He often looked at common objects as a means of expressing larger concerns such as in “L’Orange,” from his collection Le Parti pris des choses (1942), in which an ordinary orange becomes a metaphor for ways of dealing with oppression.
Ponge died in Paris on August 6, leaving behind a legacy to world literature of the deeper understanding of the inherent simplicity of life.
Other Works by Francis Ponge
Selected Poems. Translated by C. K. Williams. Winston-Salem, N.C.: Lake Forest University Press, 1994.
The Delights of the Door: A Poem. Translated by Robert Bly. New York: Bedouin Press, 1980.
A Work about Francis Ponge
Sorrell, Martin. Francis Ponge. Boston: Twayne, 1981.
