Portrait of French-Uruguayan poet Jules Supervielle, Montevideo, 1944

Portrait of French-Uruguayan poet Jules Supervielle

Jules Supervielle (1884-1960) was a French writer and poet who was born in Montevideo and grew up between Uruguay and France. He started publishing poetry collections (Débarcadères, Gravitations), novels, short stories and plays in the early 1920s. He spent the war years in Uruguay, writing and translating, and gaining in recognition. In 1946 he returned to France, as cultural correspondent to the legation of Uruguay in Paris. One of his plays was directed by Jean Vilar at the first Festival d’Avignon and in 1960 he was awarded the title of “Prince des Poètes” by his French peers.