Club des poètes

The Club des poètes is a poetry-themed cabaret-restaurant and publishing house located at 30 rue de Bourgogne in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, in the Invalides district. It was founded in 1961 by the poet and Resistance figure Jean-Pierre Rosnay, together with his muse and wife Marcelle Moustacchi, known as "Tsou." The club grew out of Rosnay's ORTF poetry broadcasts, also titled Le Club des poètes, which began with the famous greeting "Amis de la poésie, bonsoir!" and ran intermittently for 25 years despite occasional censorship. The physical club was conceived as a local extension of those broadcasts. From its early days, the Club des poètes attracted leading figures of French and international poetry and song. Regulars and guests included Louis Aragon, René Char, Pablo Neruda, Georges Moustaki, Georges Brassens, and later foreign poets such as Mahmoud Darwich, Vinícius de Moraes, Georges Schehadé, Octavio Paz, and Ma Desheng. The venue hosts recitals every evening from Tuesday to Saturday, from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m., and is closed on Sundays and Mondays. Its stated mission is to "make poetry contagious and inevitable," describing poetry as the "anti-pollutant of mental space" and a counterweight to a dehumanizing existence. Beyond the stage, the Club des poètes operates as a publishing house under the name Éditions du Club des poètes, having published numerous poets since its creation. Since 1996 it has maintained an online presence at poesie.net, offering a podcast, an events calendar, and an annotated anthology of poets. After Jean-Pierre Rosnay's death in 2009, the club was taken over by his son Blaise Rosnay, who continues to animate it. The restaurant itself remains registered under Marcelle Moustacchi as a personal business. The club is a private, independent entity rather than part of a larger corporate group.

The Club des poètes traces its origins to the early 1960s, when Jean-Pierre Rosnay presented poetry programs on ORTF (Office de Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française) under the title Le Club des poètes. These broadcasts opened with the celebrated phrase "Amis de la poésie, bonsoir!" ("Friends of poetry, good evening!") or sometimes "Bonsoir amis, bonsoir!" They were eclectic and free in tone, rejecting established hierarchies, and featured humorous poems, fables for children, classical verse, poems set to music or read by multiple voices, and works by famous as well as unjustly neglected authors such as Louis Emié, Yvan Goll, and Saint-Pol-Roux. Censored several times for their very free tone, these "eclipse" programs nonetheless continued for 25 years. In parallel, in 1961, Jean-Pierre Rosnay—helped by his muse and wife Marcelle Moustacchi, known as "Tsou"—founded a cabaret, the Club des poètes, intended as the local extension of his broadcasts. It was first frequented by Rosnay's circle, including Louis Aragon, René Char, Pablo Neruda, and his brother-in-law Georges Moustaki. The French contemporary poetry milieu soon began attending, along with artists of similar sensibility such as Georges Brassens, and later foreign poets including Mahmoud Darwich (Palestine), Vinícius de Moraes (Brazil), Georges Schehadé (Lebanon), Octavio Paz (Mexico), and Ma Desheng (China). The club established itself at 30 rue de Bourgogne in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, in the Invalides district, where it operates as a poetry-themed restaurant. It also became a publishing house under the name Éditions du Club des poètes, issuing works by numerous poets since its creation. In 1996, the club extended its activities to the internet, launching a website at poesie.net that offers a podcast, an events calendar, and an annotated anthology of poets. Jean-Pierre Rosnay died in 2009. The club was then taken over by his son, Blaise Rosnay, who continues to animate it. The restaurant has remained registered in the name of Marcelle Moustacchi as a personal business. Today the Club des poètes hosts recitals every evening from Tuesday to Saturday, 7 p.m. to 1 a.m., and is closed on Sundays and Mondays, maintaining its mission to "make poetry contagious and inevitable."

• 2009

  Jean-Pierre Rosnay dies; his son Blaise Rosnay takes over the club.

• 1996

  The club launches its website at poesie.net, offering a podcast, calendar, and poetry anthology.

• 1961

  Jean-Pierre Rosnay and Marcelle Moustacchi ("Tsou") found the Club des poètes cabaret in Paris.

• 1960

  Rosnay's ORTF poetry broadcasts titled Le Club des poètes begin (early 1960s), running intermittently for 25 years.

A bohemian, literary cabaret-restaurant and independent poetry publisher dedicated to making poetry "contagious and inevitable," rooted in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés tradition.

• Éditions du Club des poètes

  Publishing imprint issuing poetry collections since the club's founding.

• Nightly poetry recitals

  Recitals held every evening Tuesday to Saturday, 7 p.m. to 1 a.m.

• Podcast

  Online podcast featuring poetry and club news.

• Annotated poetry anthology

  Online anthology of poets loved by the club.

1. 1Le Club des poètes — official websitepoesie.net
2. 2Club des poètes — Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Club des poètes — Wikipédia (fr)fr.wikipedia.org