James Sacré is a French poet, born 17 May 1939 in Cougou, a village in Saint-Hilaire-des-Loges.
Biography James Sacré spent his childhood on his parent's farm in Vendée. After training in the college at Parthenay, he worked as a school teacher, and as an itinerant teacher. He left for the United States in 1965 to study literature, enrolling at Boston College. He taught French at Smith College in Massachusetts from 1972 until 2001. During that time, he made several journeys to France and the Mediterranean, visiting Italy, Tunisia and Morocco. In 2001, he returned to France, settling in Montpelier.
David Ball, a poet and translator of his work into English, wrote, "it is precisely true that the poetry of James Sacré turns and turns constantly. Not one major turn, but constant slight ones, often turning back to a previous image before expanding or completing it in yet another turn. In 1978 he published Slightly Moving Figures (Figures qui bougent un peu) and that, or “Figures Turning Slightly,” could serve as a title for any one of his books."
The Académie des Jeux Floraux has awarded Sacré their title of Maître ès jeux (Master of games), given to those who have won the Jeux floraux prize three times.
He was awarded the 2025 Prix Goncourt de la poésie in recognition of his body of work.
Publications
References
Bibliography
James Sacré, special issue of the journal Triages, published by Tarabuste, 264 pages. James Sacré, Issue 10 of the journal Amastra-N-Gallar dirigée by Emilio Arauxo à Lalin, Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain, autumn 2005. James Sacré, Issue 29-30 of the journal L'Étrangère.