Guido Olivieri was Ramuz’s only grandson. He was born in 1940, in the middle of the war, at a time when the writer was tormented by illness and doubt. The young child inspired a passionate attachment in the writer, but also soothed his anxieties. Guido spent long periods with his grandparents during his early years and the little boy became “Monsieur Paul,” an allusion to a neighbor’s pet name for her husband. Ramuz signed his letters to Guida “Papapa,” seeing himself as a papa twice over to this pampered child. Fascinated by this little boy and at the same time deeply concerned about his health, the writer devoted many pages of observations and reflections to him in his Journal. The text “Chant de Pâques” (1944) is addressed to him.
“One of my sorrows is that I will not be able to follow Mr. Paul in life. When he grows up, I’ll be dead. Something that is a part of me will continue outside of me, and I won’t be there.”
Journal, November 3, 1941