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There is an esoteric dimension in Pierre Micheloud’s poetry that reminds us of the alchemist’s quest. Esoteric, in most dictionaries, refers to the obscure, the abstruce, the impenetrable. But if we go back to the Greek origins of esô and esôterikos, the terms pertain to what comes from within, the secret within. What poetry is being written that does not rise from within one’s being, from within the world and cosmos? No wonder the four elements figure predominantly in her work. For many men and women alchemy consists of transforming lead concretely into gold. Micheloud stresses how alchemy is about truly changing the lead of consciousness (obscurity) and the gold of the light of this consciousness.
Micheloud fashions private mythology into what unfolds the mysteries of the universe, by removing the barriers of time and space. If a poem points to some secret interior image (in other words, the esoteric), she bends meaning to include the sensitive reading of what can be accessible to anyone who is willing to take the time to dedicate her total attention to the work. […} She allows snow to fall like grace onto the white page. A tree quivers infinitesimally. A flower is sweet-smelling, a bird a musician. Micheloud lives in perfect symbiosis with nature, in which even a stone possesses a soul.
~ from the Afterword by Jean-Peirre Vallotton
Pierrette Micheloud discovered poetry at sixteen years old, reading the works of Villon, Lamartine, and Baudelaire. Between 1945 and 2004, she produced about twenty poetry books. She abandoned her more classical approach to writing verse for a more subtle and musical versification. In 1964, she and Edith Mora created the Parisian award, Le Prix de poésie Louise Labé, an award whose jury is composed exclusively of women. Considered a troubadour of modern times, Micheloud often rode her bicycle and recited her poetry throughout the Swiss countryside of Valais. She moved to Paris in the 1950s, where she developed a love for painting. She had more than ten major exhibits of her work during her lifetime. She passed away on 17 November 2007, at ninety-two.
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