Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) négritude nĕgˈrĭto͞odˌ, –tyo͞od [key], a literary movement on the part of French-speaking African and Caribbean writers who lived in Paris during the 1930s, 40s, and 50s. Adherents of négrit...

(Encyclopedia) Melun məlöNˈ [key], town (1990 pop. 36,489), capital of Seine-et-Marne dept., N central France, SE of Paris. It is an important industrial center where automobile bodies, airplane engines, leather ...

(Encyclopedia) Montalvo, Juan hwän môntälˈvō [key], 1832–89, Ecuadorean essayist and political writer. A champion of liberalism and a master of political invective, he showered fiery anathemas on the tyrant G...

(Encyclopedia) Desmoulins, Camille kämēˈyə dāmo͞olăNˈ [key], 1760–94, French revolutionary and journalist. His oratory of July 12, 1789, contributed to the storming of the Bastille two days later. His pamp...

(Encyclopedia) Blondel, Maurice, 1861–1949, French Catholic philosopher, b. Dijon. He was a professor at the universities of Montauban, Lille, and Aix-Marseille during his influential career. Like his contemporary...

(Encyclopedia) château shătōˈ, Fr. shätōˈ [key], royal or seignioral residence and stronghold of medieval France—the counterpart of the English castle of the period. In such a fortress, peasants of the surr...

(Encyclopedia) Clair, René rənāˈ klâr [key], 1898–1981, French film director, writer, and producer. Beginning as a film critic, Clair first received international attention in the 1930s with his early sound f...

(Encyclopedia) Crawford, Joan, 1908–77, American movie star, b. San Antonio, Tex., as Lucille Le Sueur. After working as a Broadway chorus dancer, Crawford began making films in 1926, eventually moving from musica...

(Encyclopedia) Fécamp fākäNˈ [key], town, Seine-Maritime dept., N France. A major port from the 12th to ...

(Encyclopedia) Karsavina, Tamara təmäˈrə Kərsäˈvyĭnə [key], 1885–1978, Russian prima ballerina. Karsavina was trained in the Imperial Theatre School and the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, making her...