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- Title
Jean Sénac's Myth of Mediterranean Semen.
- Authors
Sainson, Katia; Bergman, David
- Abstract
The article focuses on poet Jean Sénac and his place in gay literary history. Although he called himself an Algerian, his name and nationality were borrowed. Inspiration for Sénac's poetry is said to come from the Beat movement and literary models such as Garcéa Lorca and Walt Whitman. Sénac's relationship with his mentor Albert Camus ended due to political discord when the conflict between France and Algeria grew to a violent struggle. Sénac became more politically active during the 1950s and spent some time in self-imposed exile in France. In 1962 he returned to Algeria and served as an advisor to the Ahmed Ben Bella military-backed government. He also co-founded the Union of Algerian Writers before losing his official status to a socialist dictatorship. He "came out" during his final seven years in his poems, such as "A-Corpoème," and called his collection "corpoems" because they linked the body to literature. The theme of his writing during this time was a fusion of revolutionary passion, physical desire and emotional loss. The reports of his death were ambiguous, but it is believed that he was assassinated. A brief critique of "The Myth of Mediterranean Semen" is included in this article.
- Subjects
SENAC, Jean; GAY male poets; ALGERIANS; GAY men's writings; MURDER victims; POETS; REVOLUTIONARIES; MENTORS; CAMUS, Albert, 1913-1960; GAY male authors; POLITICAL participation
- Publication
Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide, 2005, Vol 12, Issue 5, p31
- ISSN
1532-1118
- Publication type
Essay