Joyce Mansour nee Joyce Patricia Adès, (25 July 1928 – 27 August 1986), was an Egyptian-French author, notable as a surrealist poet. She became the best known surrealist female poet, author of 16 books of poetry, as well as a number of important prose and theatre pieces.
Joyce Mansour
Born
Joyce Patricia Adès
(1928-07-25)25 July 1928
Bowden, England
Died
27 August 1986(1986-08-27) (aged 58)
Paris, France
Nationality
Egyptian-French
Known for
Poetry
Movement
Surrealism
Biographyedit
Mansour was born in Bowden in England, to a Syrian-Jewish family originally from Aleppo.[1][2] and lived in Cheshire for a month before her parents moved the family to Cairo, Egypt.[3] During her youth, Mansour excelled as a runner and a high jumper. She also competed in equestrian competitions.[3]
Mansour first came in contact with Parisian surrealism while still living in Cairo. She moved to Paris in 1953 at the age of 20.[3] In 1947, her first marriage at the age of 19 ended after six months when her husband died. Her second marriage was to Samir Mansour in 1949 and they divided their time between Cairo and Paris. Mansour began to write in French.
Mansour’s first published collection of poems, titled: Cris, was published in Paris in 1953 by Pierre Seghers.[5] This collection of work references male and female anatomy in explicit language that was unusual for the time.[3] Religious language can also be found. However, it is inverted, replacing what would be Christ with the lover.[6] References of Egyptian mythology are also present in Cris. Mansour references the White Goddess as well as Hathor.[5]
In 1954, Joyce Mansour became involved with the surrealist movement after Jean-Louise Bédouin wrote a review praising Cris in Médium: Communication surréaliste that May.[5] Joyce Mansour actively participated in the second wave of surrealism in Paris. Her apartment was a popular meeting place for members of the surrealist group. L'exécution du testament du Marquis de Sade, the performance piece by Jean Benoît took place in Mansour’s apartment.[7]
Marie-Francine Mansour, Une vie surréaliste, Joyce Mansour, complice d'André Breton, France-Empire, 2014.
Referencesedit
^Rondinelli, Maria Francesca (30 December 2012). "Échos de la mythologie égyptienne dans l'œuvre de deux écrivaines d'Égypte de langue française : Andrée Chedid et Joyce Mansour". Recherches & Travaux (in French) (81): 95–109. ISSN 0151-1874.
^"Joyce Mansour | City Lights Booksellers & Publishers". Retrieved 10 December 2023.
^"Shanna Compton Celebrates Joyce Mansour". Archived 2015-09-19 at the Wayback Machine
^ abcSurrealism and women. Caws, Mary Ann,, Kuenzli, Rudolf E.,, Raaberg, Gloria Gwen (First MIT Press ed.). Cambridge, Mass. ISBN 978-0262530989. OCLC 22508706.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
^H., Matthews, J. (1969). Surrealist poetry in France (1st ed.). Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press. ISBN 978-0815621447. OCLC 54471.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Marie-Claire Barnet, La Femme cent sexes ou les genres communicants. Deharme, Mansour, Prassinos, Peter Lang, 1998
Jean-Louis Bédouin, Anthologie de la poésie surréaliste, Éd. Pierre Seghers, Paris, 1983, p. 285
Adam Biro & René Passeron, Dictionnaire général du surréalisme et de ses environs, co-édition Office du livre, Fribourg (Suisse) et Presses universitaires de France, Paris, 1982
Stéphanie Caron, Réinventer le lyrisme. Le surréalisme de Joyce Mansour, Droz, Genève 2007. ISBN 978-2-600-01090-0
Stéphanie Caron, « De la création comme (re)commencement. Petit aperçu sur la genèse des récits de Joyce Mansour : le cas "Napoléon" », in Pleine Marge n° 37, mai 2003