Xavier Privas: Cimetière parisien de Saint-Ouen #3

 

Xavier Privas (1863–1927) was a singer-songwriter – known as the rather old-fashioned 'chansonnier' on the grave here – and poet. The top photo was taken in 1913.

Marcel Proust and Xavier Privas in Auteuil, 10th arrondissement, Paris, France: Literary Île-de-France #51

Auteuil was one of the last places I visited in Paris, but I couldn't miss this place, as it's the birthplace of Marcel Proust at 96 rue de Fontaine.

The plaque is surprisingly small, with very few words:

'ICI NAQUIT

MARCEL PROUST

LE 10 JUILLET 1871'

It was a bonus to find a plaque I wasn't aware of commemorating a writer I wasn't aware of either: the poet-songwriter Xavier Privas, who died here.

'XAVIER PRIVAS

1863—1927

POÈTE-CHANSONNIER

HABITA CETTE MAISON

PENDANT LES DERNIÈRES

ANNÉES DE SA VIE'



And finally, in what should be the last blog post in this French literary series (unless I chance upon something I've missed), the Fondation d'Auteuil proved a very useful find for contemporary French books.