Thomas, Henri

(1912-1993)

   poet, essayist, novelist, translator

   Born in Anglemont, Vosge, Henri Thomas wrote autobiographical novels centered on heroes who are "free of attachments, but who have a past" (Le Seau à charbon, 1940; La Nuit de Londres, 1956; Une saison volée, 1986; Le Goût de l'éternel, 1990). Le Pro-mentoire (1961, prix Femina) is a reflection on writing. in easygoing short stories (La Cible, 1955; Les Tours de Notre-Dame, 1979), as well as in his essays, Thomas wrote in the first person, in a simple, clear, almost ascetic, style. For this reason, he is first of all a poet (Travaux d'aveugle, 1941), as he continued to be in his best translations (Goethe; Jinger; Kleist; Melville; Pushkin; Le Convive de Pierre, 1947; Shakespeare, Sonnets, posthumous, 1995).