Francis JAMMES (1868-1938) poet. 3 L.A.S. and 1 P.A.S., Hasp - Lot 180

Francis JAMMES (1868-1938) poet. 3 L.A.S. and 1 P.A.S., Hasparren (Basses-Pyrénées) February 1937, to actress Jeanne BOITEL, in Paris; 13 pages in-4, 2 envelopes, and illustrated postcard. February 6. The old poet sends her a sprig of his laurels: "you have rendered in a sublime way the soul, face and voice of Eugénie Grandet. You and those who accompanied you were worthy - and what can I say! - of Balzac's genius"... He invites her to share this letter with the other performers and the director, and to tell Albert Arnault [author of the stage adaptation] "that he was equal to a task almost impossible to assume"... February 22. "My child, I bless you. [...] I wrote a poem a little after my twentieth birthday. [...] It is on this dislocated idyll that poetry will restart after a long sleep. He will witness the rebirth of what I conceived in 1888. I'll probably be long dead by then. It would have been, and perhaps will be, what Le Passant pour Sarah was, and much more... February 23. Portrait of Jammes (by Macier), dedicated "à l'âme d'Eugénie Grandet", and on the back: "à Jeanne Boitel [...] au retour de la messe"... March 24, 1937. Presentation of UUUn jour, one of those early works that "came out of the heart like an army of white lilies". Read this act slowly: "Ask yourself what you could give in this primitive role: the poet's soul. It could be a curtain-raiser that would be a dawn-raiser"... He gives a few stage directions, agreeing to modify a few lines if necessary. "Copeau wanted to play Un jour puis la guerre éclata and I no longer cared. It's true that I don't like theater. Jane Bathory had even rehearsed for me when I was in Paris. In fact, it was Un jour, set entirely to music by Raymond Bonheur. But here, your simple voice would say the lines - perhaps preceded by a discreet overture. [...] Young people come back to me and I'd like to see you triumph"...