Saint-John Perse (pseudonym of Alexis Leger) (May 31, 1887 – September 20, 1975) was a French poet and diplomat who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1960 "for the soaring flight and evocative imagery of his poetry." May 31 is the 151st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (152nd in leap years), with 214 days remaining. ... 1887 is a common year starting on Saturday (click on link for calendar). ... September 20 is the 263rd day of the year (264th in leap years). ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ... The Nobel Prize in literature is awarded annually to an author from any country who has produced the most outstanding work of an idealistic tendency. The work in this case generally refers to an authors work as a whole, not to any individual work, though individual works are sometimes...

He was born in Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe. His father, a lawyer, had lived in Guadeloupe since 1815. The family divided their time between the two family plantations, one a coffee plantation and the other a sugar plantation. Pointe-à-Pitre is the main town of the French Caribbean island and French département doutre-mer of Guadeloupe, of which it is a sous-préfecture. ... The Battle of New Orleans 1815 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

In 1897, Hégésippe Légitimus, the first native Guadeloupan president of the General Council, was elected and promised a vindictive stance towards the colonists. The Leger family returned to France and settled in Pau. The young Alexis felt as if he were in exile. However, he did spend much of his time in sports, hiking, fencing, horseback riding, and sailing. 1897 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Château de Pau Pau is a city of southwestern France, préfecture (capital) of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département. ...

In 1904, he received his baccalaureate with honors and began his law studies in Bordeaux. In the cultural circles that he frequented, he met Paul Claudel and Odilon Redon. His first publication was a translation of Robinson Crusoe, and he also undertook a translation of Pindar. 1904 (MCMIV) is a leap year starting on a Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... City motto: Lilia sola regunt lunam undas castra leonem. ... Cover of Time Magazine(March 21, 1927) Paul Claudel (August 6, 1868 – February 23, 1955) was a French poet, dramatist and diplomat, and the younger brother of the sculptor Camille Claudel. ... Odilon Redon (April 22, 1840 - July 6, 1916) was a symbolist painter. ... Robinson Crusoe and Man Friday by Carl Offterdinger Robinson Crusoe is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published in 1719 and sometimes regarded as the first novel in English. ... Pindar Pindar (or Pindarus / Pindaros) (522 BC – 443 BC), considered the greatest of the nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, was born at Cynoscephalae, a village in Thebes. ...

He had to interrupt his studies in 1907 because of the change in the family's financial situtation after the death of his father. He did, however, receive his degree in 1910, the same year he published Eloges. 1907 (MCMVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... -1...

He was introduced into the Foreign Ministry in 1911 and traveled frequently to Spain, Germany, and England. At the beginning of World War I, he was attached to the government press corps. 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ... Combatants Entente Powers Central Powers Commanders {{{commander1}}} {{{commander2}}} Strength {{{strength1}}} {{{strength2}}} Casualties > 5 million military deaths > 3 million military deaths World War I, also known as the First World War and (before 1939) the Great War, the War of the Nations, War to End All Wars was a world conflict...

From 1916 to 1921, he was secretary at the French Embassy in Peking. There, he received his true political apprenticeship. 1916 (MCMXVI) is a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January-February January 1 -The first successful blood transfusion using blood that had been stored and cooled. ... 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...

In 1921, he participated in a conference on disarmament in Washington DC and was noticed by Aristide Briand, who made him his assistant. In Paris, he was involved in the literary circles of André Gide and Paul Valéry, as well as the musical circles of Igor Stravinsky, Nadia Boulanger, and les Six. ... ]] statesman. ... The neutrality and factual accuracy of this article are disputed. ... André Paul Guillaume Gide (November 22, 1869 – February 19, 1951) was a French author and, at times, a spokesman for gay rights (disputed — see talk page). ... Ambroise-Paul-Toussaint-Jules Valéry (Sète, October 30, 1871 – Paris, July 20, 1945) was a French author and Symbolist poet. ... Igor Fyodorovitch Stravinsky (Russian: ) (June 17, 1882 – April 6, 1971) was a Russian-French-American composer of modern classical music. ... Nadia Boulanger (September 16, 1887 – October 22, 1979) was an influential composer, conductor, and music professor. ... Le Groupe des Six, 1922, by Jacques-Emile Blanche. ...

In 1924, he published Anabase, using the pseudonym of Saint-John Perse for the first time. 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Even after the death of Briand, he continued to occupy important posts in the government. From 1933 to 1940, he was general secretary of the Foreign Ministry, despite great instability in the government. At the Conference of Munich in 1938, he opposed the cession of Czechoslovakia to Germany in vain. 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ...

He was removed from his post in 1940 and left France, crossing to the United States by way of England. The Vichy government removed him from the French Legion of Honor and revoked his French citizenship. He passed some time in financial difficulties until Archibald MacLeish, Director of the Library of Congress and himself a poet, offered him a post. Lilita Abreu joined him in Washington. He refused a teaching position at Harvard University to concentrate on his work. Vichy is a spa and resort town in central France, near Clermont-Ferrand and was the capital of Vichy France from 1940 to 1944. ... French Legion of Honor The Légion dhonneur (in Legion of Honor (AmE) or Legion of Honour (ComE)) is an Order of Chivalry awarded by the President of France. ... Archibald MacLeish Archibald MacLeish (May 7, 1892 – April 20, 1982) was an American poet, writer, and Librarian of Congress. ... Library of Congress, Jefferson building The Library of Congress is the unofficial national library of the United States. ... Harvard University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA and a member of the Ivy League. ...

He remained in America long after the war, traveling extensively. In 1957, he was offered a villa in Provence, and from that time on, he divided his time between France and the United States. In 1958, he married Dorothy Milburn Russell, a rich American. 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Provence is a former Roman province and is now a region of southeastern France, located on the Mediterranean Sea adjacent to Frances border with Italy. ... 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In 1960, he received the Nobel Prize for Literature. 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ...

He died in his villa in Provence and was buried in Giens.

Salvatore Quasimodo (August 20, 1901 - June 14, 1968 ) was an Italian author. ... Winners of the Nobel prize are scientists, writers and peacemakers who have been awarded in their field of endeavour, and who are known collectively as either Nobel laureates or Nobel Prize winners. ... Ivo Andrić. ...

External links

• About Saint-John Perse
• Saint-John Perse, le poète aux masques, site (in French) devoted to the author
• the soaring flight and the evocative imagery of his poetry which in a visionary fashion reflects the conditions of our time.