Youenn Gwernig
Youenn Gwernig was born in 1925 in the town of Scaër (Brittany). He was a breton-american poet, writer and singer. He had been painter, sculptor and a TV presenter on the French channel which name is France 3;
He came to the United States in the late 50s and became an American. He came back to Brittany in the late 60s. Influenced by the Breton traditionnal culture, the American pop culture, the Beat Generation he had known through his friendship with Jack Kerouac, he had written poetry and songs in Breton and English.
He died in 2006, in Douarnenez (Brittany).
Life
He was born in 1925, in a traditionnal Breton family, in Scaër. He first was a sculptor on wood. In the early 50s he met the Breton poet and singer Glenmor, whom he set a music band up with : "Breizh a gan".
He went to the USA in 1957. From 1961, he used to go regularly in the West Side neighbourhood of New-York and met the Beat Generation writers there. He became a friend of Jack Kerouac nad lived in the Bronx where he wrote some bilingual poems in Breton and in English. He used toi send them to the Breton library "Al Liamm".
He came back to Brittany in 1969 with his wife and his daughters. He set his first disc up in 1971.
He wrote a novel in French in 1982 : La grande tribu where he told what his life in America looked like. His poetry has been edited in 1972 (An toull en nor) and in 1976 (An diri dir).
In 1990 was released his album "Emañ ar bed va iliz". In 2002, a second novel has been edited : Appelez-moi ange. He died in 2006.
Discography
- 1971 : Les bougnoules - Gavotte du joint
- 1973 : Ni hon unan! - Tap da sac'h
- 1974 : Distro ar Gelted (Come back the Celt people), LP Arfolk
- 1975 : E-kreiz an noz (In the middle of the night), LP Velia
- 197? : Youenn Gwernig, Private People, LP
- 1990 : Emañ ar bed va iliz (The world is my church), CD
- 1994 : Foeter Bro / Just a traveller / Compagnon de route, CD[1]
Books
- An toull en nor (bilingual breton-english, litt. The door's hole), Ar Majenn éditions, 1972.
- An diri dir / Les escaliers d’acier / Stairs of steel (trilingual Breton-English), Ar Majenn éditions, 1976.
- La grande tribu, (French, The great Tribe) Grasset,1982.
- Un dornad plu / A handful of feathers (Breton and English), Al Liamm, 1997.
- Appelez-moi Ange (French, Call me angel) ), Blanc Silex, 2002[2].
- Kerouac city blues with Jacques Josse, Daniel Biga, Alain Jégou…
Notes
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