Liberte

« Liberté » is a poem by Paul Eluard (1895-1952), a French surrealist poet.

It was written during World War II (1941) and because it was wartime it soon became an anthem of the French Resistance. Published in 1942 the poem moved from the occupied zone to the free zone and then to England. It was parachuted by Royal Air Force planes over occupied France as a note of hope. Since then it has been a symbol and has been learnt by generations of school children.

It was also the poem I chose for my « Heritage » quilt, series organised by SAQA Europe & Middle East. The reason is that I have always been attracted by the surrealist poetry, but also because, in these troubled times, we need to remember the importance of freedom for every human being.

The quilt is made from scraps and pieced using the “improv” method, although in reality it’s not so improvised…

The portrait of Paul Eluard is made on fabric with transfer paper from one of his photos. It is lightly quilted with transparent monofilament. The quilted text fragments are randomly chosen extracts from the poem itself, which is very long. When I’d almost finished the quilt, I realized that I’d forgotten to include the lettering as on the previous quilts of the series. That’s why I created a separate lettrine to hang on the quilt! After all, didn’t the Surrealists try to break away from normality by creating automatic writing?

Liberté by Paul Eluard (Extract)

“On my notebooks from school On my desk and the trees, On the sand on the snow, I write your name…..

On passionless absence, On naked solitude, On the marches of death, I write your name

On health that’s regained, On danger that’s past, On hope without memories, I write your name

By the power of the word I regain my life, I was born to know you, And to name you, Liberty

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