Claire Malroux

Claire Malroux
Born	Josette Andrée Malroux 1925 (age 98–99) Albi, France
Occupation	Poet, translator
Language	French
Nationality	French
Alma mater	École Normale Supérieure
Notable awards	Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur

Claire Malroux (born September 3, 1925) is the pen name of French poet, essayist and translator Josette Andrée Malroux. Malroux has published a dozen poetry collections and also serves as the French translator for notable American poets such as Emily Dickinson and Wallace Stevens. Malroux's own poetry has been translated into English by Marilyn Hacker.

Early life

Malroux was born in 1925 in Albi, France. She studied at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris. Malroux was a teenager during World War II. Her father was Augustin Malroux, a socialist, teacher and member of the French Resistance, which led to his arrest, deportation and death during the war.

Career

Malroux has published 12 volumes of poetry, in addition to two "hybrid prose works." Four of those volumes (Edge, A Long-Gone Sun, Birds and Bison and Daybreak) have been translated into English by Hacker. Her 1998 work Soleil de jadis: recit poeme tells the story of World War II from a child's perspective through poetry.

She has translated the works of numerous English-language poets into French, but cites Emily Dickinson as one of the most impactful, describing it as the "awakening of a personal affinity." In 1999, she was awarded the title of Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur for her translation work.