Raphaël Barquisseau

Raphaël Barquisseau or Barquissau is a professor, writer and Historien réunionnais born with Saint-Pierre the June 4th 1888 and died with Paris the November 20th 1961.

Childhood and youth

Raphaël Barquisseau saw its first years in its native island before following his/her father magistrate in his various voyages, in particular with the the Antilles. It returns to the Meeting to continue its studies in the college which bears its name created by his/her grandfather, Désiré Barquissau. It comes then to the college to Saint-Denis, where it obtains each time the first outstanding commendation award.

Career of professor

The death of his/her father obliges it to leave the island to study with Paris. It follows courses to the Sorbonne and becomes professor. It begins its career with Alexandria, in Egypt. It writes its thesis of Doctorat in Letters on the poets réunionnais previous centuries, and especially on Évariste de Parny and Antoine Bertin. It obtains the aggregation in Letters in 1920 and teaches then with Nimes, Sens and Orleans. In the first city, it counts the future general Raoul Salan among his pupils.

Raphaël Barquisseau returns during five years in its native island to teach there in its old college. Between its courses, it provides the function of operations manager Madagascar in 1923 and the Mauritius in 1925.

After this return to the sources, it goes in Indo-China during ten years, and initially to Hanoï. Irony of fate, the future general Giap who will face Salan thereafter belonged to his pupils in this city. It is established then with Saigon, where it takes the post of headmaster of the Chasseloup-Laubat college. It turns over finally to Paris to exert there as a professor of letters then of Philosophie to the college Carnot. The retirement enables him to return to the Réunion.

President Edgar Faure on the occasion to pay to him homage to the radio in these terms: That of my professors who contributed the most to my intellectual formation is certain Mr. Barquisseau who, since, left for the islands

Literary work

Admiror of Leconte de Lisle, Raphaël Barquisseau will not fail to pay homage to the poets réunionnais through his work. She celebrates in particular Auguste Lacaussade, compatriot who was librarian with the Sénat. She also celebrates the Paix, the equality and the Fraternité. Tests on the colonial history, literary works or collections of Poem S, the few thirty works which it produced reveal a romantic form of delicacy to which the French Academy will be sensitive by crowning four of them.

Among these works:

Childhood in the Islands
the Year melancholic person
poems of Asia and the islands
French romanticism
the Lacaussade poet and tropical exoticism
the colonial novel French
letters familiar of Parny
Isles
the island of the Meeting

The May 4th 1945, it is elected with the Academy of Science of overseas. He will be the president during the year 1960. He was in addition general secretary of the Academy of the Peace (which he founded) and organizer of poetic evenings to Paris. He is also known for his support for the community réunionnaise emigrated in metropolis. He was for this reason director and editor association of the Echo of the Meeting , the first newspaper of connection created for this community.

In 1988, his/her daughter Helene Pussy-Barquisseau will offer to her birthplace part of its important library.

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