Biography of Fernando Arrabal, poet and playwright
Born in 1932 in Melilla, a Spanish city in Morocco, Fernando Arrabal had a tragic childhood during which his father was sentenced to death and disappeared forever after escaping from prison. In 1955, he received a scholarship to study in Paris and settled at the Colegio de España of the Cité Internationale, but suffered a severe relapse of tuberculosis and had to be hospitalized. He considers this event a twist of fate that allowed him to remain in Paris permanently.
He has published around one hundred plays, fourteen novels, eight hundred illustrated bibliophile books, several essays, and his famous Letter to General Franco during the dictator’s lifetime.
Currently the most performed contemporary playwright worldwide and in all languages, Arrabal continues to write and produce art in every form. His theatrical works have been adapted many times.
Biografía de Fernando Arrabal, poeta y dramaturgo
Nacido en 1932 en Melilla, ciudad española en Marruecos, Fernando Arrabal tuvo una infancia trágica, durante la cual su padre fue condenado a muerte y desapareció para siempre tras fugarse de la cárcel. En 1955 obtuvo una beca para estudiar en París y se trasladó al Colegio de España de la Cité universitaire, pero sufrió una grave recaída de tuberculosis y tuvo que ser hospitalizado. Consideró este suceso como un giro del destino que le permitió quedarse definitivamente en París. Publicó un centenar de obras de teatro, catorce novelas, ochocientos libros de bibliofilia ilustrados, varios ensayos y su famosa Lettre au général Franco en vida del dictador. Actualmente es el dramaturgo contemporáneo más representado, en todo el mundo y en todas las lenguas, Arrabal no deja de escribir y producir arte en todas sus formas. Sus obras teatrales han sido adaptadas en numerosas ocasiones.
Imagination introduces the strange into the everyday, dreams into reality, the unexpected into the obvious, and life into theater.
La imaginación introduce lo extraño en la cotidiano, los sueños en la realidad, lo inesperado en lo obvio, la vida en el teatro.
A poem-chair
“I adopted the chair, this familiar object, a few decades ago, at a time when I wanted to create art on a human scale in public spaces, while everywhere else people opted for the monumental: it is an object shaped like the body and serves the body. It is difficult to feel exclusive ownership of an object so universally shareable. It is mine when I occupy it, but if I leave it, someone else can claim it as their chair.” Michel Goulet, artist-sculptor
The project Prendre position
Prendre position is a sculpture-installation project of 47 chair-poems to mark the 100th anniversary of the Cité internationale universitaire de Paris. They were installed in a flowered meadow created especially for the occasion by the campus estate service.
This artistic installation was conceived by the Quebecois artist-sculptor Michel Goulet, in collaboration with François Massut, founding director of the collective Poésie is not dead.
Each house on the campus is represented by a chair, thanks to a donation from the Maison des étudiants canadiens and the support of the Labrenne group. Each of the 47 chairs is a unique work.
History and architecture of the house
King Alfonso XIII, already responsible for the creation of the Ciudad Universitaria in Madrid, authorized the construction of the Colegio de España in 1927. Its classical style is inspired by the Palacio de Monterrey in Salamanca, which belonged to the Duke of Alba.
