Jacques Jasmin

Jansemin (born Jacques Boé and also known as Jasmin in French) (16 March 1798 – 4 October 1864) was an Occitan poet.

Life

He was born at Agen, his family name being Boé. His father, who was a tailor, had a certain facility for making doggerel verses, which he sang or recited at fairs and other such gatherings; Jacques, who generally accompanied him, was thus early familiarized with the role of the poet. At 16, he found employment at a hairdresser's shop, and subsequently started a similar business of his own on the Gravier at Agen.¹

In 1825 he published his first volume of Papillotos (Curl Papers), containing poems in French (a language he used with a certain sense of restraint), and in the familiar Agen variety of the Occitan language, the popular speech of the working classes in which he was to achieve all his later literary triumphs. Jasmin was the most famous forerunner, in Provençal literature, of Frédéric Mistral and the Félibrige. His influence in rehabilitating, for literary purposes, his native dialect, was particularly exercised in the public recitals of his poems he gave. His poetic gift, as well as his fluent voice and fluid bearing, fitted him admirably for this double role of troubadour and jongleur. In 1835, he recited his "Blind Girl of Castel-Cuill" at Bordeaux, and in 1836 at Toulouse, and he met with an enthusiastic reception in both of these important cities. Most of his public recitations were given for benevolent purposes, the proceeds being contributed by him to the restoration of the church at Vergt and other good works.¹

Four successive volumes of Papillotos were published during his lifetime, and contained amongst others the following poems, quoted in order: "The Charivari", "My Recollections" (supplemented after an interval of many years), "The Blind Girl", "Francounetto", "Martha the Simple", and "The Twin Brothers".