Jules Supervielle

French poet. Born in Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay in South America. His parents were from the Pyrenees region of southern France, but they died suddenly shortly after he was born, leaving him an orphan. He was raised by a wealthy uncle who ran a ranch and a bank in Uruguay, and after graduating from the Faculty of Letters at the University of Paris, he enjoyed a comfortable life as a writer. His first collection of poems was "Mists of the Past" (1900), but it was after World War I that he began to attract attention as a poet, releasing a succession of masterpieces, including the poetry collections "The Pier" (1922), "Universal Gravitation" (1925), "Innocent Prisoner" (1930), and "Unknown Friend" (1934).

Superbiel is considered a poet with a unique and fantastical style that is difficult to classify into any school of poetry. While he has elements close to surrealism, he also has metaphysical elements. He was especially respected as a master from the late 1930s to the 1940s. His experience growing up in the vast nature of Uruguay conveyed a wild pulse to his early free verse poems, which had a cosmic feel, but later he gradually turned his attention to the origins of human existence and crystallized his unique ontological themes. These include the poetry collections "Fables of the World" (1938), "Dedicated to the Night" (1947), "Memories of Forgetfulness" (1949), and "Birth" (1951). His other works include the novels "Man on the Prairie" (1923), "The Kidnapper" (1926), and "Sunday Youth" (1955), as well as the excellent collections of short stories "The Daughter of the Sea" (1930) and "Noah's Ark" (1938), and the play "Sleeping Beauty" (1932).

[Motoo Ando]

"The Poems of Supervielle, translated by Horiguchi Daigaku (Shincho Bunko)" ▽ "The Poems of Supervielle, translated by Ando Motoo (1982, Shichosha)" ▽ "The Youth of Sunday, translated by Shimaoka Akira (1973, Shichosha)" ▽ "The Noah's Ark, translated by Horiguchi Daigaku (1977, Seidosha)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

フランスの詩人。南米ウルグアイの首都モンテビデオに生まれる。両親は南フランスのピレネー地方の出身で、彼が生まれてまもなく急死したため孤児となり、ウルグアイで牧場や銀行を営む裕福な伯父の手で育てられ、パリ大学文学部卒業後、ゆとりのある文筆生活を送った。処女詩集は『過去の霧』（1900）だが、詩人として注目を浴びるのは第一次世界大戦後のことで、詩集『桟橋(さんばし)』（1922）、『万有引力』（1925）、『無実の囚人』（1930）、『未知の友だち』（1934）など、代表作を相次いで世に送った。

　シュペルビエルはどの流派にも分類しがたい、独自の幻想的な詩風にたつ詩人とされており、シュルレアリスムに近い要素をもちながら形而上(けいじじょう)的な要素をも秘め、とくに1930年代後半から40年代にかけては巨匠としての尊敬を受けた。ウルグアイで広大な自然のなかに育った経験が、宇宙的な感覚をもつ初期の自由詩に野性的な鼓動を伝えているが、のちしだいに人間存在の根源を見つめて、独特の存在論的主題を結晶させるに至った。詩集『世界の寓話(ぐうわ)』（1938）、『夜に捧(ささ)ぐ』（1947）、『忘れがちの記憶』（1949）、『誕生』（1951）などがそれである。ほかに『大草原の男』（1923）、『人さらい』（1926）、『日曜日の青年』（1955）などの長編小説、傑作短編集『海原(うなばら)の娘』（1930）、『ノアの方舟(はこぶね)』（1938）、戯曲『ねむり姫』（1932）などがある。

［安藤元雄］

『堀口大学訳『シュペルヴィエル詩集』（新潮文庫）』▽『安藤元雄訳『シュペルヴィエル詩集』（1982・思潮社）』▽『嶋岡晨訳『日曜日の青年』（1973・思潮社）』▽『堀口大学訳『ノアの方舟』（1977・青銅社）』

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