Le Jardin Littéraire in Saint-Rémy-la-Calonne, Meuse (55)

It's a good idea to have a literary garden, and this one in Saint-Rémy-la Calonne seems very successful. Included here are many writers associated with war, and the one that strikes me in particular is Jean Giono, well known for his hatred of war after experiencing it first hand in World War I. The horror he saw during the war made him stongly react against war, leading for some to absurdly consider him a collaborator! The writers included here are Alain-Fournier, Allain, Guillaume Apollinaire, Ruppert Brooke [sic], Paul Cazin, Roger Martin du Gard, Maurice Genevoix, Jean Giono, Ernst Jünger, Edelf Köppen, Frantz Marc, John Mc Crae [sic], Edmont Vittet, Louis Pergaud, Charles Péguy,  Wilfrid Owen and Edmont Vittet.

An example of one of the posts: Alain-Fournier, almost inevitably. These are triangular posts, in French, English and German.

Alain-Fournier in Saint-Rémy-la-Calonne, Meuse (55)

The lines of crosses of the World War I dead in the area, including that of the writer Alain-Fournier, viewed from the church in Saint-Rémy-de-Calonne.

Alain-Fournier in La Tranchée de Calonne, Saint-Rémy-la-Calonne, Meuse (55)

A local newspaper article reports that in 1991, in the woods of Saint-Rémy-la-Calonne, following long searches led by Michel Algrain of Montlivault and Claude Regnault, with the help of such locals as Jean Louis from Lacroix-sur-Meuse, Roger Margerard from Mesnils-sous-les-côtes and DRAC (Directeurs régionaux des affaires culturelles) archaeologists, the remains of bodies from World War I were found. One of those remains was of Henri-Alban Fournier, much better known simply as Alain-Fournier (1886-1914), whose only novel was the immensely internationally successful novel of adolescent love and loss, Le Grand Meaulnes.

The memorial to Alain-Fournier and the men killed with him.

The monument itself is very impressive, having involved a large amount of time and money, but is not easy to locate, and you need to go a long way along the Tranchée de Calonne to find it. 

Some have called the central object 'La Pyramide' after the entrance to the Louvre.

There are a few reflections here, but Alain-Fournier's monument can be clearly seen.

Henri-Patrick Stein, in his nearby atelier in Mouilly, sculpted this superb monument.

Representations of Alain-Fournier's Le Grand Meaulnes and his képi.

It would probably have taken us much longer to find the memorial without the help of local historian Roger Margerard (mentioned above and pictured immediately above), who even added information when we got to the village church in Saint-Rémy-la-Calonne and (on his way home) added a word of local history when I'd photographed Maurice Genevoix's statue in Les Éparges. Many thanks, Roger, et ouais, on se demande quand ils vont déboucher le tunnel après toutes ces conneries !

Maurice Genevoix in Les Éparges, Meuse (55)

The Goncourt winning writer Maurice Genevoix (1890-1980) was a sub-lieutenant in La Bataille des Éparges, where he was wounded, and he wrote about his experiences in some of his books, notably Les Éparges. His quotation at the base of the monument reads: 'Ce que nous avons fait c'est plus qu'on ne pouvait demander à des hommes, et nous l'avons fait': 'What we have done is more than could be asked of men, and we have done it.' His statue stands in front of the mairie in Les Éparges.