MARGUERITE YOURCENAR - PORTRAIT INTIME. French-American Lesbian Activist Writer

USPA NEWS - In 1981, Six Years before her Death, Marguerite Yourcenar became the First Woman ever inducted into the Académie Française, and that Weighty Honor has been hanging around the Neck of her Reputation ever since. Marguerite Yourcenar was born Marguerite de Crayencour in Brussels in 1903. She lost her Mother at Birth, her Native Belgium at the Age of Six, and was forced to flee her Adopted France at Twelve.

In 1981, Six Years before her Death, Marguerite Yourcenar became the First Woman ever inducted into the Académie Française, and that Weighty Honor has been hanging around the Neck of her Reputation ever since. Marguerite Yourcenar was born Marguerite de Crayencour in Brussels in 1903. She lost her Mother at Birth, her Native Belgium at the Age of Six, and was forced to flee her Adopted France at Twelve. She became a US Citizen in 1947.

One of the Most Respected Writers in the French Language, best known as the Author of "Memoirs of Hadrian" and "The Abyss", she was awarded Countless Literary Honors, culminating with her Eection in 1981 to the Académie Française (she was the First Woman ever to be so Honored). As Complex, Erudite, and Intriguing as her Work, Yourcenar´s Life has resisted its own Passionate Reconstitution until now. Most of the People who knew her, even Friends, addressed her not as Marguerite but as Madame. Add to that the Fact that she wrote not in English but in her Native French, and in a Style that was often Magisterial, in an Old-Fashioned, Classical Way.

The First Woman to be elected to The French Academy, the Multi Talented Personality of Marguerite Yourcenar was a Novelist, Essayist, Playwright, Short Story Writer, Poet and Translator. She was an Artist at reconstructing Historical Eras in the Form of her Novels. Her Novels, dealing with Modern Issues set in Historical Eras won her Immense Fame as a Writer.

Marguerite Yourcenar was among the First Female Writers to live an Openly Lesbian Lifestyle, and she moved to the USA in 1939 to live with her Partner Grace Frick. The Couple were to remain together until Frick´s death in 1979. She taught French History and History of Art, and continued to write : her Novel "Mémoires d´Hadrien" was published in 1951 and enjoyed Success with both the Critics and the Public Worldwide. She was an Inveterate Traveller and remained Active Right up to her Death in 1987. She was a Militant Vegetarian and Defender of the Rights of Animals and inspired Brigitte Bardot to set up her Animal Sanctuary.

What made her Remarkable was not so much her Style as the Quality of her Mind. Loftiness served her well as an artist: she was able to dispense Love and Justice, Heat and Cold in Equal Parts. Above all, her High Sense of Herself gave her the Strength to take on a Great Topic : Time. Like Hadrian, she had her Burial Plot prepared, next to Frick´s, in a Cemetery near Petite Plaisance. Indeed, the Headstone was carved, lacking only the Date of Death. She must have known that her Career was over; if not, she would have stayed Home and worked on the Last Volume of “The Labyrinth,“ which she never finished. In 1987, having packed to leave for Europe again, she suffered a Stroke and was taken to the Hospital, where she became Delirious.

- "MARGUERITE YOURCENAR - PORTRAIT INTIME" by Achmy HALLEY and Published by Flammarion Edition in FRANCE, demonstrates her Profound Intelligence and Sympathy, her Foibles and Obsessions, her Accomplishments and Trials : all are revealed here by an Immense Fan who is writer himself and Research Professor in Contemporary Literature. He dedicated his Doctoral Thesis to Marguerite Yourcenar and became a Specialist of her Works. Currently, he is in charge of "La Villa Marguerite-Yourcenar" at Saint-Jans-Cappel, near Lille (North of France). Also, in this Special Book, we can find lots of Recipes showing how Found Margerite Yourcenar was of Gastronomy and trying to "prove" in a way that we can have a Nice Way Of Life without harming Animals. One of her Activist' Side. Two Specialties are Trendy such as Marguerite Yourcenar's Waffle and Tea. They are made and marketed by MEERT, French Delicacies House founded in 1677.

Source : Press Day on October 18, 2018 in Paris.
Publishing of the Book "Marguerite Yourcenar - Portrait Intime" by Flammarion Editions and Sold also in Méert Restaurants and Shops. Tasting of Marguerite Yourcenar's Waffle and Tea (Both Made and marketed by Méert House)

Ruby BIRD
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Yasmina BEDDOU
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