Literary Birthday – 14 June – René Char

René Char was born 14 June 1907, and died 19 February 1988.

Five Quotes

1. I believe in the magic and authority of words.
2. Children and geniuses know that there is no bridge, only the water that lets itself be crossed.
3. It is not whether your words or actions are tough or gentle; it is the spirit behind your actions and words that announces your inner state.
4. In my land we don’t question someone who has been touched deeply.
5. A poet must leave traces of his passage, not proof. Traces alone engender dreams.

René Char was a 20th-century French poet whose first book, Cloches sur le cœur was published in 1928. He was a member of the French Resistance during World War II. Char was a friend and close associate of Albert Camus, Georges Bataille and Pablo Picasso. His poems are collected in the Selected Poems of René Char.

by Amanda Patterson

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