Louis Aragon (1897-1982) was one of the most important figures in the political and literary history of 20th century France. The famous writer and public figure had strong ties to Cyprus.
The island is mentioned in his novel "Death in Serious".
The name of Aragon was associated, on the one hand, with the main achievements of the European avant-garde at the turn of the century, and on the other, with the ideals of the leftist movement and revolutionary humanism. Aragon stood at the origins of Dadaism and surrealism, then wrote in the style of socialist realism, which he himself brought to French literature.
During the Second World War he participated in the activities of the Resistance. From the age of 26 he was a member of the French Communist Party. In 1957 he was awarded the International Lenin Prize. He popularized Soviet literature in his homeland, but at the same time supported disgraced writers, for example, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, and Soviet dissidents who left for the West.
Louis Aragon was connected with Cyprus through his friends Panikos and Ellie Paeonida. He visited the island several times, including in 1981, shortly before his death.
Cyprus is talked about a lot in his 1965 novel Death in Serious. In particular, there is this line: “It seemed to me that in the mirror of Cyprus, in its atmosphere, I would finally learn everything that was hidden from me about myself.”
The text was prepared based on materials from Polygnosi, Wikipedia and Limassol Today
Also
Virgil is one of the greatest Latin poets and the most important representative of world literature. In his most famous work, the Aeneid, he mentions Cyprus several times. Read more at the link.
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