Poets

The poet, playwright and essayist Jean-Pierre Siméon was born on the 6th of May, 1950 in Paris. As a professor of modern literature, he has published several books of poetry, novels, children’s books and theatre plays. He was the founder of Semaine de la poésie (“Poetry Week”) in Clermont-Ferrand in 1987. From 2001 to 2017 he was the art director of “Printemps des poètes” (The Spring of Poets). From 2001 to 2019 he was an associate poet of the “National Popular Theatre” in Villeurbanne. He is the Chairman of the jury of the Apollinaire Award. At present, he is the director of the Gallimard “Poetry” collection.

Jean-Pierre Siméon has taught at the University Institute for Teachers Training (IUFM), the National School of Theatre Arts and Techniques (ENSATT), and the Institute for Political Sciences in Paris in Paris.

His poetry collections have been published by the “Cheyne Éditeur” and “Gallimard” publishing houses, while his theatre plays have been published by “Les Solitaires Intempestifs”.

For his poetry work, Jean-Pierre Siméon is the recipient of numerous awards, including the: Théophile Briant Award in 1978, Maurice Scève Award in 1981, the Antonin Artaud Award in 1984, the Apollinaire Award in 1994, the Max Jacob Award in 2006, the Lucian Blaga International Award in Romania, the Grand Prix du Mont-Saint-Michel for his overall works, the International Contemporary Poetry Award in China in 2021, and the Grand Prize for poetry by the Académie Française in 2022. 

Jean-Pierre Siméon has received the following distinctions: Knight of the Order of Academic Palms, Knight of the Order of National Merit and Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters.

He is the author of the essay Poetry Shall Save the World (Le Passeur), which enjoyed great success among the critics and the public alike, as well as the collection Letter to the Beloved Woman on the Subject of Death (poetry, Gallimard). He is the founder of the poetry award Andrée Chedid and serves as a jury member of the Max Jacob and Benjamin Fondane Awards.