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Article: Villon lives.(French poet Francois Villon is remembered)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- December 25, 1999
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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1431-??
AMID too much courtly verse-turning of the 14th-16th centuries, the unattainable dames, later the sportive nymphs and shepherds, one voice speaks to the modern ear like clanging metal amid tinsel:
Surname? Villon, just my luck.
Born? In Paris, near Pontoise.
You wonder what my backside weighs?
Ask my neck when they string me up.
A graduate, widely read, client of the princely poet Charles d'Orleans, Francois Villon, born in 1431, could turn elegant trivia with the best: his over-famous Ou sont les neiges d'antan?--Where are the snows of yesteryear?--is really not much more than that. But his true life and ...