Marguerite Yourcenar

Pseudonym of MARGUERITE DE CRAYENCOUR (b. June 8, 1903, Brussels, d. 1987), French novelist who became the first woman to be elected to the Académie Française (French Academy) an exclusive literary institution with a membership limited to 40. Yourcernar’s works are remarkable for their style and intellect and are considered to be well within the French cultural tradition. They include the historical novels Mémoires d’Hadrien (1951; "Memoirs of Hadrian", 1954) and L’Oeuvre au noir, (1968; "Work in darkness") and the "family autobiography" Souvenirs Pieux (1973; "Pious Memories").

Memberships in the Académie Française requires French citizenship. Although Yourcenar had become a U.S. citizen in 1947, she was granted dual U.S.-French nationality in 1979 and was elected to the Académie on March 6, 1980.

Yourcenar had a very thorough classical education and had developed a deep understanding the ancient world, which, in due time, has given cultural substrate to our western cultural developments, as well as good part of eastern europe cultural matrixes (mixed with slavic heritage in this particular case). Delicate sensibility mark the aesthetic perspective of her works, ranging from historical fiction to sensitive subjects like homosexual emotional development. The richness of her prose is due to the variety of literary resources employed, from biographical accounts to narrative involving themes from folk literature of many countries. Often developing her characters from an internal perspective, their subjectivity grows at the poetic perspective which taints her whole view of reality.

Personally, this writer has had a great influence on my writings, since she embodies the cultural roots which we need to draw from in every situation and the poetic ways which may respond to the need of beauty nested in the human spirit.