30.06.2020, Moscow.
On July 29, the whole world celebrates the 120th anniversary of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, famous French writer and poet, reports Russia-K (Kultura/Culture) TV channel.
Ever since his childhood Exupéry had passion for flying. He first served in civil aviation, and later became a military pilot contrary to all odds. In many of his works he described all transformations of his life.
The collection of books by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry could be compiled into an entire philosophical treatise. But all of his philosophy comes from difficult real-life experiences. Exupéry was lost once in the Sahara desert, fell into the Mediterranean Sea and the mountains of Guatemala, but most importantly, the writer went through the hardships of WWII and died heroically during his mission.
“Being a human is to feel that you are responsible for everything,” says Exupery, the pilot and the writer, the soldier and the dreamer.
A naive and romantic work The Little Prince was written in 1942, in the midst of hostilities. His Flight to Arras is literally a self-portrait.
Such novels as Southern Postal and Night Flight, as well as a collection of essays called Planet of People are among other well-known author’s works.
French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was awarded the Military Cross of the French Republic for having made several sorties on the Block 174 aircraft, performing aerial reconnaissance missions in 1939.
On July 31, 1944, when he was already an acclaimed and famous writer, Exupery took off from a Borgo airport on the island of Corsica onto a reconnaissance mission, from which he had not returned.
Background
June 29 marks the 120th anniversary of the famous French pilot and writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Exupéry was 12 years old when he took off in the plane for the first time, and since then he developed a passion for flying which he carried through life. He wrote several works about pilots: Flight to Arras, Planet of People, The Little Prince, Night Flight. His first story was also called Pilot.
At the age of 37, Exupéry went to fight in WWII. Gradually, as he became more aware of internal reasons for war, he managed to understand and turn around the feeling of the defeat that gripped the French people. This inner journey from defeat to victory formed the basis for his Flight to Arras novel.
On July 31, 1944, the writer took off into his last reconnaissance flight. He did not return. Exupéry precisely described his vocation of being a writer in the novel called “The Citadel”, “If you want to built a ship, don’t drum up people to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.”
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
