William Cliff
William Cliff (born André Imberechts, 27 December 1940) is a Francophone Belgian poet. His poems had the good fortune to be noticed early on by Raymond Queneau, and were published continuously by Gallimard until 1986. Cliff won the Prix Goncourt de la Poésie in 2014.
William Cliff

Georges Seguin (Okki) · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Name
- William Cliff
- Birth Name
- Andre Imberechts
- Born
- 27 December 1940
- Birthplace
- Gembloux, Belgium
- Occupation
- poet
- Full name
- André Imberechts.
- Nationality
- Belgium.
- Fields
- poetry, translation, Slovene and Catalan.
- Honours
- Grand prix de poésie de la SGDL, Roger-Kowalski award, Grand Prix de Poésie and Prix Goncourt de la Poésie.
- Languages
- French.
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William Cliff (born André Imberechts, 27 December 1940) is a Francophone Belgian poet. His poems had the good fortune to be noticed early on by Raymond Queneau, and were published continuously by Gallimard until 1986. Cliff won the Prix Goncourt de la Poésie in 2014.
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In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — William Cliff • Birth Name — Andre Imberechts • Born — 27 December 1940 • Birthplace — Gembloux, Belgium • Occupation — poet
Works
Works
• Homo sum, Gallimard, in Cahier de poésie 1, 1973 • Écrasez-le, Gallimard, 1976 • réédition Écrasez-le, précédé de Homo sum, Gallimard, 2002, • Marcher au charbon, Gallimard, 1978 • America, Gallimard, 1983 • En Orient, Gallimard, 1986 • Conrad Detrez, Le Dilettante, Paris, 1990 • Fête Nationale, Gallimard, 1992 • Autobiographie, La Différence, 1993 • Journal d'un Innocent, Gallimard, 1996 • L'État belge, poèmes, La Table Ronde, 2001 • La Sainte Famille, (roman) La Table Ronde, 2001 • Adieu patries, Le Rocher, coll. Anatolia, Monaco, 2001 • Le Passager, (roman) Le Rocher, coll. Anatolia, Monaco, 2003 • Passavant la Rochère, Virgile, 2004 • La Dodge, (roman autobiographique) Le Rocher, coll. Anatolia, Monaco, 2004 • L'Adolescent, (roman) Le Rocher, coll. Anatolia, Monaco, 2005, • Le Pain quotidien, La Table Ronde, 2006, • Immense Existence, Gallimard, 2007, • Épopées, La Table Ronde, 2008, • Translations • Jaime Gil de Biedma, Un corps est le meilleur ami de l'homme, Le Rocher, coll. Anatolia • Gabriel Ferrater, Les Femmes et les Jours, Le Rocher, coll. Anatolia, Monaco, 2004, • Dante, L'Enfer, Éditions du Hazard, 2013, La Table Ronde, 2014 • Dante, Le Purgatoire, Éditions du Hazard, 2019, La Table Ronde, 2021
Identity
Identity
William Cliff is recorded as having received Grand prix de poésie de la SGDL, Roger-Kowalski award and Grand Prix de Poésie. Recorded at birth as André Imberechts.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1940
William Cliff born at Gembloux.
Awards and honors
• 1993 Prix Maurice Carême • 2001 Prix Marcel Thiry for L'Etat belge • 2004 Prix triennal de poésie for Adieu patries • 2007 Grand prix de poésie de l'Académie française for oeuvre of poetry. • 2007 Prix Roger-Kowalski • 2010 Prix Quinquennal de littérature for oeuvre • 2014 Prix Goncourt de la Poésie
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Books
38,960 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- William Clark FalknerAuthor
- William Cleaver WilkinsonAuthor
- William ClelandAuthor
- William Clement StoneAuthor
- William CobbettAuthor
- William CohenAuthor
- William ColeAuthor
- William ColepeperAuthor
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