5 things you did not know about Antoine Saint-Exupéry | Françoise Bastide | TEDxTarfaya

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx
Having conducted 20 years of research, read thousands of books on Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and examined relevant research in different documentary sources across the world, Françoise Bastide has become one of the true experts on the life of Saint-Exupéry. Here she shares with us five secrets about the most read and most translated writer in the world.

[@BowM33]

Heureux de redecouvrir ce TED et Tarfaya j en reve maintenant... Merci!!!!❤❤❤❤

[@ausundvorbei1]

Especially when reading the "Ecrits de Guerre" I experience the autistic aspects of St. Exupery. With the inner gravity he describes the perception of my inner world perfectly. And at the same time, his story shows how incredibly difficult it is to communicate.

[@curarex1]

he makes me so thankful to have studied french in school :)

[@rothsshvili5125]

Pourquoi?

[@MohandRaschidSEKARNA]

J'ai apprécié, très instructif sur l'un des premiers pionniers de l'aviation.

[@RainyMood1]

C'est merveilleux, merci!

[@felipevagli7830]

Enseignements très riches! 👏👏👏

[@sonnybrahmi3136]

Merci Madame .

[@chantalbreuildesert4719]

Très intéressant, merci

[@elodie-mercadie]

Merci !! 🙏

[@anthonyblackwell7838]

Interesting despite the misleading title. Any reader with a modicum of knowledge about St-Ex would be familiar with much of the content of this talk, delivered somewhat patronizingly. That said, it would be a dream to visit Tarfaya!

[@brerbrer]

Wow.

[@marcsimmonsedd5048]

I wish my French was better. Can anyone sum up the 5 things? Or provide a link to a translation?

[@joydee5702]

Marc Simmons, EdD Actually there are more than five things. It's a very interesting insight on Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's childhood and adult life. First off, we learn that Antoine de Saint-Expuéry is the most translated author in the world, in 26 different alphabets and 260 languages and dialects. Every three months, there is a new translation. Françoise Bastide tells us how Antoine, as a kid learned to look beyond the materialistic aspect of life when a tragic event occured: The loss of his only brother. We learn that he had lost his father at the age of 4 that he grew up surrounded by women only. This explains the rivality that characterized the relationship of the two brothers (although they loved each other). One night, as his brother was very sick since a month already, Antoine was called to his room to fulfill his brother's last wish. It consisted of a list of random items which were to be inherited by Antoine. (you can imagine a few things that children are attached to). Ever since that night, Antoine had switched his state of mind and became determined to learn to live and understand the authentic side of life, throughout the human contact and communication. As his journey takes off, so does his dreams, he says: "Always keep feeding your dreams, if you don't want them to die''. This quote refers to Latécoère's achievement, a pionier of the aviation industry, whom's plane was flown by Mermoz and Antoine himself. In fact, Latécoère's success was met with great surprise and astonishment since all the odds were against his success, as specialists had pointed out that the lack of technology to build a plane, will fail his attempt in building and successfully flying one. That said, if one tells you that your idea is unrealisable, you should go for it. ''If you wish to understand men, you should not listen to them when they speak''. Françoise cites another stricking Antoine's quote: ''Our community of pilotes was not the sum of our interests, but of our gifts.'' Summing up how one's intention and determination can lead him to build his dreams, reagardless of the availability of the materialistic aspect. We also learn that Antoine had a strong desire for the mail to be shipped across the countries. Advocating for the communication between different communities and rejecting the idea of being enemies because of our differences, but rather use our differences to nurture each others hearts and spirit and benefit from it, he says: ''If we are different from each other, know my brother, that far from hurting me you are increasing my wealth. --- That is all I can translate for now, I might have to come back later for the second half, hope this bit helped you!

[@ItssOgi]

wow, thanks so much for this!

[@TranscendenceTradingTechnology]

i hope u can translate the remainder soon... i am playing him in an upcoming play. thanks in advance.

[@josephlaredo5272]

Hi, Marc, I can't see if anyone has ever replied to your question. In case not, Ms Bastide starts by saying Saint-Ex is the most widely read and translated French author, then claims he's the most widely read and translated author of any nationality (?). His books have been translated into 260 languages and dialects, covering 26 different alphabets. There's a new translation every three months. As for the five things, they aren't entirely clear! Thing no. 1: The loss of his father when he was 4 didn't have a terrible effect on him. It was his younger brother François's death at the age of 15 that did. The day he died, he made Antoine write a list of all the things he was leaving him, toys, etc. From that day onward, Antoine had no regard for material things. Thing no. 2: Antoine believed that you must always realize your dreams, simply by doing what you dream of doing. Before there was powered flight, people said it was possible, despite 'experts' denying it. But by believing it was possible and by doing it, they achieved it. She goes on to talk about the people of Tarfaya, who suddenly saw great 'birds' flying over their land and naturally tried to shoot them down, even though they were carrying communications between people that should bring them closer together. Antoine was asked to talk to them and explain that they were not a threat, an enemy. And he said, "If you want to understand people, you should never listen to what they say." Maybe this is Thing no. 3; I don't remember seeing a no. 3 on the film... No. 4 is his dictum: "If you are different from me, Brother, you do not diminish me; you enrich me." This is true fraternity, not 'tolerance', which says, "I'm better than you, but I'll tolerate you all the same." He would rewrite things 30 times because (according to the SE quote on the screen) he wanted everyone in the world to understand what he has to say (according to Ms Bastide, also because he believed he was writing for future generations) and so he had to find a universal language. Then we have another SE quote: "We must understand the invisible in order to realize the impossible". It is not the school building that matters but the quality of the teaching that goes on within it. She then goes back to the point about believing you can achieve something without worrying about how you're going to achieve it. If you believe in it, the means will appear. Another 'thing' that we might not know is why SE's book Courrier Sud is called Courrier Sud: when SE was writing it, he said to Jean Mermoz, "I can't think of a title" and Mermoz looked up and saw a bag of mail on a shelf with "Courrier Sud" written on it ... In SE's unfinished work titled "Citadelle" (which his wife says he regarded as his greatest work), he addressed the question: "How to govern men and educate/develop/grow them without falling into chaos?" The day before he died he said (roughly translated): "The future proliferation of man terrifies me. If I survive this necessary but thankless job, there will be only one question that interests me: What should I say to people? And Thing no. 5 is his answer: "Hope for nothing of men who work for their own lives rather than for 'their eternity' [i.e. the legacy they can leave future generations]." Hope this helps!

[@dylanbryant4714]

@@joydee5702 thank you very much

[@rothsshvili5125]

6:19

[@minsugageniusjjangjangmanb4019]

I just wan to know if antoine de saint-exupéry can speak english

[@bethsmith7894]

I read somewhere that he couldn't and said that he was still learning French.

[@rothsshvili5125]

Je pense que il doit apprendre l'anglais, monsieur.

[@dasia5479]

He refused to learn english, very french of him, lol!

[@mylesgarcia4625]

This woman is inventing things about AdSE.

[@chantalbreuildesert4719]

Très intéressant, merci