Marie-Claire Bancquart (1932–2019)

Marie-Claire Bancquart was born in Aveyron in southern France, and became a poet, essayist, novelist, literary critic, and professor. She was a professor of French literature at several universities, including Brest, Rouen, Nanterre, and the Sorbonne. Her work was featured in a number of French literary journals, and she received multiple honors and awards, including the Prix Max Jacob, the Grand Prix de la Ville de Lyon, the Grand Prix d’Automne de la Société des Gens de Lettres, and the Prix Robert Ganzo. In addition to more than two dozen collections of poetry, she published six novels and books and essays on a wide range of topics, including France and Surrealism. She became professor emerita at the Université Paris-Sorbonne and president of the French arts council La Maison de la Poésie. She was married to the musician-composer Alain Bancquart.