Biography

Jean Lescure, 1986

Lescure was born in Asnières-sur-Seine. In 1938, he published his first plaquette

of poems, "Le voyage immobile", and launched the review "Messages" (two issues in
1939: "William Blake" and "Metaphysics and poetry").

During the Occupation Lescure resumed editing "Messages" in 1942, printed in

Brussels, with Paul Éluard, Raymond Queneau, Michel Leiris, Gaston Bachelard,
Georges Bataille, Jean Paulhan, Guillevic, André Frénaud. "Domaine français"
(Messages 1943) was printed in Geneva (Louis Aragon, Gaston Bachelard, Albert
Camus, Paul Claudel, Paul Éluard, André Gide, Michel Leiris, François Mauriac,
Henri Michaux, Francis Ponge, Romain Rolland, Raymond Queneau, Jean-Paul Sartre,
Paul Valéry).

Jean Lescure became co-director of the clandestine review "Les Lettres françaises"
and was one of the founders of the underground organization, the "Comité National
des Ecrivains". After the Liberation he was appointed director of the French Radio.
He was an early member of Oulipo.

Lescure translated Shakespeare's "Measure for Measure" (1949) and the complete
works of Giuseppe Ungaretti (1953). He wrote introductions to the work of many
French artists (Bertholle, Chastel, Estève, Gischia, Lapicque, Pignon, Prassinos,
Singier, Ubac) and essays on the philosopher Gaston Bachelard and André Malraux. He
died, aged 93, in Paris.