Writing

Elsa Triolet

Elsa Triolet, originally named Ella Yuryevna Kagan, was born on September 24, 1896, in Moscow into a Jewish family. Her father, Yuri Alexandrovich Kagan, was a lawyer, while her mother, Yelena Youlevna Berman, was a music educator. Along with her sister, Lilya Brik, she received a robust education, becoming fluent in both German and French, and developed her musical talents on the piano. Ella graduated from the Moscow Institute of Architecture.

Through her sister's connections, she became involved with the Russian Futurist movement, forming close ties with influential figures such as Roman Jakobson. Her early love affair with the poet Vladimir Mayakovsky led to significant artistic collaborations, as she was the first to translate his poetry into French. In 1918, amidst the turmoil of the Russian Civil War, she married French cavalry officer André Triolet and relocated to France, where she adopted the name Elsa.

Triolet ventured into literature, and her first notable work, "In Tahiti," was published in 1925, inspired by her letters describing her travels. She continued to write novels in Russian, including "Wild Strawberry" and "Camouflage." In 1928, she met and later married French writer Louis Aragon, with whom she shared a profound partnership for over four decades.

In 1944, Elsa Triolet made history as the first woman to receive the prestigious Prix Goncourt for her novel "Le premier accroc coûte 200 francs." She passed away on June 16, 1970, in Saint-Arnoult-en-Yvelines, France. In 2010, her contributions to literature were commemorated when La Poste issued stamps in her honor.

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