Origins & Early Life

Alexis Leger (French: [ləʒe]; 31 May 1887 – 20 September 1975), better known by his pseudonym Saint-John Perse ([sɛ̃ d͜ʒɔn pɛʁs]; also Saint-Leger Leger), was a French poet, writer and diplomat, awarded the 1960 Nobel Prize in Literature "for the soaring flight and the evocative imagery of his poetry which in a visionary fashion reflects the conditions of our time". Alexis Leger was born in Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe. His great-grandfather, Prosper Louis Léger, a solicitor, had settled in Guadeloupe in 1815. His grandfather and father were also solicitors; his father was also a member of the city council.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

The Leger family owned two plantations, one of coffee (La Joséphine) and the other of sugar (Bois-Debout). St. Léger described his childhood on Guadeloupe as "the son of a French family as only the colonials are French". Later on, Léger greatly embellished his family origins by changing his surname to the more aristocratic sounding St Léger-Léger and by claiming that his ancestors were an ancienne noblesse family who had settled in Guadeloupe in the 17th century. The Léger family were well off and Léger had a happy boyhood.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

Léger was closer to his warm and loving mother...

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