This week on My Poetic Side we look at the growing petition to save a poet’s former apartment and a blue plaque on Guernsey.
The Battle to Save a Poet’s Former Apartment from Expansion of the Moulin-Rouge
A flat in Montmartre, France where Jacques Prévert, one of the most important French poets in recent years, lived is being threatened by a project which would see the adjoining Moulin Rouge being extended.
The flat, number 6 Cité Véron, which has always been open to contemporaries of the poet, may soon no longer exist if the current owners – the Moulin-Rouge cabaret – have their way. In a move that has caused a ripple in the cultural world, the flat and another which is located opposite, and which was home to the French music writer Boris Vian have both been earmarked for expansion.
Speaking about the news, the poet’s granddaughter said, “I don’t think this is respecting history.” She is currently working to preserve Prévert’s archives and is mobilising support to keep the flat as somewhere that can be protected and visited rather than becoming a pile of rubble.
Her association “Chez Jacques Prévert,” has launched a petition to help their cause, and it has already garnered almost 39,000 signatures. An open letter has been sent to the French Minister for Culture, calling for the building to receive listed status as a historical monument. It has been signed by the likes of Nobel winner Patrick Modiano and Patti Smith, the famed singer.
The Prévert family have been renting the flat since 1955 and last September were given a bailiff letter stating that the lease would not be renewed, they have been given until the end of March 2026 to vacate. The Moulin-Rouge company has not disclosed what they want to do with the space although it is believed they may be considering renovating the hall associated with Mistinguett, star of the Roaring Twenties.
Part of the problem that is being faced is both Prévert and Vian’s flats as well as the Moulin-Rouge itself are French monuments and equally worthy of preservation, and careful consideration needs to be taken when looking at plans to help one develop whilst preserving the other two.
Blue Plaque Unveiled to David Robilliard
A blue plaque was recently unveiled in Guernsey at Clifton Steps in honour of the poet David Robilliard. The site is close to the former Little Theatre where the poet performed on stage as a boy.
During the unveiling, one of the poet’s sisters read out one of his poems. She also made a joke about struggling to find one which the audience wouldn’t find too rude.
In order to be eligible for a blue plaque, a person needs to have died over 20 years ago or have been born at least 100 years ago. Robilliard falls into the first category and there were a number of people in attendance who knew him personally. Not only was he the most recently born islander to have been celebrated in this way but he was also the first known person from the LGBT community to have received a blue plaque in Guernsey.
Whilst his work is well known on a more international scale it has only recently begun to rise in popularity with locals, something that it is hoped will continue to improve.
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