Gilbert Prouteau

Gilbert Prouteau’s first passion was athletics and he placed second overall at the 1939 French National Track and Field Championships. Following World War II he began to focus on a career as a writer that he had developed at a young age and it is in this capacity that he earned an Olympic medal, winning bronze in the mixed lyrical works competition at the 1948 Summer Games for his poem “Rythme du Stade”. Aside from poetry he authored over 50 books, including “Le Sexe des Anges”, which was a finalist for France’s prestigious Prix Goncourt. He did win numerous other awards, however, including the Prix Gérard de Nerval, the Grand Prix de littérature de la Ville de Bordeaux, the Grand Prix de littérature des Écrivains de l'Ouest, and the Grand Prix de Littérature sportive. He also had a brief career as a filmmaker and was considered one of France’s premier living poets until his death in 2012 at the age of 95.