Michel Leiris

Michel Leiris
1984 portrait
Born	20 April 1901
Died	30 September 1990(aged 89)
Occupation	Writer,poet,collector
Family	Pierre Leiris

Julien Michel Leiris(French:[lɛʁis];20 April 1901 inParis– 30 September 1990 inSaint-Hilaire, Essonne) was a Frenchsurrealistwriter andethnographer.Part of the Surrealist group in Paris, Leiris became a key member of the College of Sociology withGeorges Batailleand head of research in ethnography at theCNRS.

Biography

Michel Leiris obtained hisbaccalauréatin philosophy at theLycée Janson de Saillyin 1918 and after a brief attempt at studying chemistry, he developed a strong interest in jazz and poetry. Between 1921 and 1924, Leiris met a number of important figures such asMax Jacob,Georges Henri Rivière,Jean Dubuffet,Robert Desnos,Georges Batailleand the artistAndré Masson,who soon became his mentor. Through Masson, Leiris became a member of theSurrealistmovement, contributed toLa Révolution surréaliste,publishedSimulacre(1925),andLe Point Cardinal(1927), and wrote a surrealist novelAurora(1927–28; first published in 1946). In 1926, he married Louise Godon,the stepdaughter ofPicasso'sart dealerDaniel-Henry Kahnweilerand traveled to Egypt and Greece.

Following a falling-out with the surrealist leaderAndré Bretonin 1929, Leiris contributed an essay to the anti-Breton pamphletUn Cadavre,and joined Bataille's team as a sub-editor forDocuments,to which he also regularly contributed articles such as “Notes on Two Microcosmic Figures of the 14th and 15th Centuries” (1929, issue 1), “In Connection with the ‘Musée des Sorciers'" (1929, issue 2), "Civilisation" (1929, issue 4), “The ‘Caput Mortuum’ or the Alchemist's Wife” (1930, issue 8), and on artists such asGiacometti,Miró,Picasso,and the 16th Century painterAntoine Caron.He also wrote an article on “The Ethnographer’s Eye (concerning the Dakar-Djibouti mission)” before setting off in 1930 as the secretary-archivist inMarcel Griaule'sambitious ethnographic expedition. From this experience, Leiris published his first important book in 1934,L’Afrique fantôme,combining both an ethnographic study and an autobiographical project, which broke with the traditional ethnographic writing style of Griaule. Upon his return, he started his practice as an ethnographer at theMusée de l'Homme,a position he kept until 1971.

In 1937, Leiris teamed up with Bataille andRoger Cailloisto found theCollège de sociologiein response to the current international situation.Increasingly involved in politics, he took part in a mission to Côte d'Ivoire in theFrench colonies,in 1945. As a member ofJean-Paul Sartre's editorial committee forLes Temps modernes,Leiris was involved in a series of political struggles, including theAlgerian War,and was one of the first to sign theDéclaration sur le droit à l'insoumission dans la guerre d'Algérie,the 1960 manifesto supporting the fight against the colonial forces in Algeria.

In 1961, Leiris was made head of research in ethnography at the C.N.R.S. (Centre national de la recherche scientifique) and published numerous critical textson artists he admired, includingFrancis Bacon,a close friend for whom he had modeled.That year he also publishedNights as Day, Days as Night(Eng. translation,Spurl Editions, 2017).

Considered a leading figure in 20th century French literature, sociology, and cultural criticism, Michel Leiris left a considerable number of works. These range from autobiographical works such asL'Age d'homme(1939),La Règle du jeu(1948–1976) and hisJournal 1922-1989(published postmortem in 1992); art criticism such asAu verso des images(1980) andFrancis Bacon face et profil(1983); music criticism such asOperratiques(1992); and scientific contributions such asLa Langue secrète desDogonsde Saga(1948) andRace et civilisation(1951). (His fields of interest in anthropology ranged frombullfightingtopossessioninGondar,Ethiopia.)

With Jean Jamin, Leiris foundedGradhiva,a journal of anthropology in 1986. The journal is now the journal of anthropology and museology of theMusée du quai Branly(Paris, France).

Leiris was also a talented poet, and poetry was important in his approach to the world. In the preface toHaut Mal, suivi de Autres Lancers(Gallimard 1969) he is quoted as saying that "the practice of poetry enables us to posit the Other as an equal" and that poetic inspiration is "a very rare thing, a fleeting gift from Heaven, to which the poet needs to be, at the price of an absolute purity, receptive – and to pay with his unhappiness for the benefits derived from this blessing."

Works (selection)

• Simulacre(1925)
• Le Point Cardinal(1927)
• Aurora(1927–28)
• L’Afrique fantôme(1934);Phantom Africa(Eng. translation, Brent Hayes Edwards,Seagull Books, 2018)
• L’Âge d’homme(1939);Manhood(Eng. translation, Richard Howard, University of Chicago Press, 1992)
• Haut Mal(poems) (1943) / reprinted asHaut Mal, suivi de Autres lancers(1969)
• La Langue secrète des Dogons de Saga(1948)
• La règle du jeu(1948–1976);The Rules of the Game
  • Vol. 1:Biffures(1948) (Eng. translation:Scratches,Lydia Davis, 1991)
  • Vol. 2:Fourbis(1955) (Eng. tr.Scraps,Lydia Davis, 1997)
  • Vol. 3:Fibrilles(1966) (Eng. tr.Fibrils,Lydia Davis, 2017)
  • Vol. 4:Frêle Bruit(1976) (Eng. tr.Frail Riffs,Richard Sieburth, 2024)
• Race et civilisation(1951)
• La Possession et ses aspects théatraux chez les Éthiopiens du Gondar(1958)
• Nuits sans nuit et quelques jours sans jour(1961);Nights as Day, Days as Night(Eng. translation, Richard Sieburth,Spurl Editions, 2017)
• Brisées(1966) (Eng. translation, Lydia Davis, North Point Press, 1990)
• Au verso des images(1980)
• Le Ruban au cou d'Olympia(1981) (Eng. translation:The Ribbon at Olympia's Throat,Christine Pichini, 2019)
• Francis Bacon face et profil(1983)
• Operratiques(1992)
• Journal 1922-1989(1992)

See also

• Limit-experience

References

• Jean-Louis de Rambures,"Comment travaillent les écrivains", Paris 1978 (interview with M. Leiris, in French)

External links

• Works by or about Michel LeirisatInternet Archive
• Michel LeirisatFind a Grave