About
Born in Cairo into a French-speaking Jewish family, Edmond Jabès published his first collection at 18. Forced into exile in 1957 during the Suez Crisis, he settled in Paris and obtained French nationality in 1967. His major work, the Book of Questions cycle (1963-1973), is a poetic and fragmentary meditation on exile, Judaism, emptiness, and writing. He received the Grand Prix national de la Poésie in 1987 and died in Paris in 1991.
* 1912-04-16 — † 1991-01-02
Major works
- Le Livre des Questions (1963)poetic cycle
- Je bâtis ma demeure : poèmes 1943-1957 (1959)poetry collection
- Le Livre des ressemblances (1976)poetic cycle
- Le Livre des limites (1982)poetic cycle
- Le Livre de l'hospitalité (1991)poetic essay
Key milestones
- 1957Forced into exile during the Suez Crisis, he settled in Paris.
- 1967Obtained French nationality.
- 1987Received the Grand Prix national de la Poésie.
Themes
ExileJudaismEmptinessWritingHospitality
Sources: poetryfoundation.org · archive.blogs.harvard.edu · taylorfrancis.com