Location via proxy:   [ UP ]  
[Report a bug]   [Manage cookies]                
Jump to content

Julien Gracq: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
m replacing curly quotation marks and apostrophes with straight ones, per MOS:' (via WP:JWB)
GreenC bot (talk | contribs)
Bots
2,516,560 edits
Rescued 1 archive link. Wayback Medic 2.5 per WP:URLREQ#timesonline.co.uk
 
(17 intermediate revisions by 15 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Short description|French writer}}
{{expand French|Julien Gracq|date=December 2017}}
{{expand French|topic=bio|Julien Gracq|date=December 2017}}
{{more footnotes|date=December 2017}}
{{more footnotes|date=December 2017}}
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
Line 7: Line 8:
| caption = Gracq in 1951
| caption = Gracq in 1951
| pseudonym =
| pseudonym =
| birth_name = Louis Poirier
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1910|7|27}}
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1910|7|27}}
| birth_place = [[Saint-Florent-le-Vieil]], [[Maine-et-Loire]], France
| birth_place = [[Saint-Florent-le-Vieil]], [[Maine-et-Loire]], France
Line 12: Line 14:
| death_place = [[Angers]], France
| death_place = [[Angers]], France
| occupation = Novelist, critic, playwright, poet
| occupation = Novelist, critic, playwright, poet
| nationality = French
| period = 1938–2002
| period = 1938–2002
| education = [[University of Paris]]
| education = [[University of Paris]]
Line 24: Line 25:
| footnotes =
| footnotes =
}}
}}
{{French literature sidebar}}


'''Julien Gracq''' ({{IPA-fr|gʁak|lang}}; 27 July 1910 – 22 December 2007; born '''Louis Poirier''' in [[Saint-Florent-le-Vieil]], in the French ''département'' of [[Maine-et-Loire]]) was a French writer.<ref name=NYTobit>{{cite news |title=Julien Gracq, 97, Iconoclastic French Surrealist Writer|publisher=''[[The New York Times]]''|date=24 December 2007}}</ref> He wrote novels, critiques, a play, and poetry. His literary works were noted for their dreamlike abstraction, elegant style and refined vocabulary. He was close to the [[Surrealism|surrealist movement]], in particular its leader [[André Breton]].<ref name=NYTobit />
'''Julien Gracq''' ({{IPA|fr|gʁak|lang}}; 27 July 1910 – 22 December 2007; born '''Louis Poirier''' in [[Saint-Florent-le-Vieil]], in the French ''département'' of [[Maine-et-Loire]]) was a French writer.<ref name=NYTobit>{{cite news |title=Julien Gracq, 97, Iconoclastic French Surrealist Writer|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=24 December 2007}}</ref> He wrote novels, critiques, a play, and poetry. His literary works were noted for their dreamlike abstraction, elegant style and refined vocabulary. He was close to the [[Surrealism|surrealist movement]], in particular its leader [[André Breton]].<ref name=NYTobit />


==Life==
==Life==
Gracq first studied in Paris at the ''[[Lycée Henri IV]]'', where he earned his [[baccalauréat]]. He then entered the [[École Normale Supérieure]] in 1930, later studying at the ''[[Paris Institute of Political Studies|École libre des sciences politiques]]'' (Sciences Po.), both schools of the [[University of Paris]] at the time.
Gracq first studied in Paris at the ''[[Lycée Henri IV]]'', where he earned his [[baccalauréat]]. He then entered the [[École Normale Supérieure]] in 1930, later studying at the ''[[Paris Institute of Political Studies|École libre des sciences politiques]]'' (Sciences Po.), both schools of the [[University of Paris]] at the time.


In 1932, he read [[André Breton]]'s ''Nadja'', which deeply influenced him. His first novel, ''[[The Castle of Argol]]'', is dedicated to that surrealist writer, to whom he devoted a whole book in 1948.
In 1932, he read [[André Breton]]'s ''Nadja'', which deeply influenced him. His first novel, ''[[The Castle of Argol]]'', is dedicated to that surrealist writer, to whom he devoted a whole book in 1948.


In 1936, he joined the [[French Communist Party]] but quit the party in 1939 after the [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact]] was signed.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bowd |first1=Gavin |title=The Political Landscapes of Julien Gracq |journal=Dalhousie French Studies |date=Summer 2004 |volume=67 |page=121–133}}</ref>
In 1936, he joined the [[French Communist Party]] but quit the party in 1939 after the [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact]] was signed.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bowd |first1=Gavin |title=The Political Landscapes of Julien Gracq |journal=Dalhousie French Studies |date=Summer 2004 |volume=67 |pages=121–133}}</ref>


During the Second World War, he was a prisoner of war in Silesia with other officers of the French Army. One of the friendships he formed there was with author and literary critic Armand Hoog, who later described Gracq as a passionate individualist and ferociously anti-[[Vichy France|Vichy]].<ref>Bernhild Boie, « Chronologie », in Julien Gracq, ''Œuvres I'', Paris, Gallimard, Bibliothèque de la Pléiade, p. LXI.</ref>
During the Second World War, he was a prisoner of war in Silesia with other officers of the French Army. One of the friendships he formed there was with author and literary critic Armand Hoog, who later described Gracq as a passionate individualist and ferociously anti-[[Vichy France|Vichy]].<ref>Bernhild Boie, « Chronologie », in Julien Gracq, ''Œuvres I'', Paris, Gallimard, Bibliothèque de la Pléiade, p. LXI.</ref>


In 1950, he published a fierce attack on contemporary literary culture and literary prizes in the review ''Empédocle'' titled ''[[La Littérature à l'estomac]]''. When he won the ''[[Prix Goncourt]]'' for ''[[The Opposing Shore]]'' (''Le Rivage des Syrtes'') the following year, he remained consistent with his criticism and refused the prize.<ref name=NYTobit />
In 1950, he published a fierce attack on contemporary literary culture and literary prizes in the review ''Empédocle'' titled ''[[La Littérature à l'estomac]]''. When he won the ''[[Prix Goncourt]]'' for ''[[The Opposing Shore]]'' (''Le Rivage des Syrtes'') the following year, he remained consistent with his criticism and refused the prize.<ref name=NYTobit />
Line 45: Line 45:
In 1989, Gracq's work was published by the ''[[Bibliothèque de la Pléiade]]''. He remained distant from major literary events and faithful to his first publisher, [[José Corti]].
In 1989, Gracq's work was published by the ''[[Bibliothèque de la Pléiade]]''. He remained distant from major literary events and faithful to his first publisher, [[José Corti]].


Gracq lived a quiet life in his native town of Saint-Florent-le-Vieil, on the banks of the [[Loire River]]. On 22 December 2007, a couple of days after suffering a dizzy spell, he died at the age of 97 in a hospital in [[Angers]].
Gracq lived a quiet life in his native town of Saint-Florent-le-Vieil, on the banks of the river [[Loire]]. On 22 December 2007, a couple of days after suffering a dizzy spell, he died at the age of 97 in a hospital in [[Angers]].


==''The Opposing Shore''==
==''The Opposing Shore''==
Line 56: Line 56:
*''Au château d'Argol'', 1938 (novel) (English translation: ''[[The Castle of Argol]]'')
*''Au château d'Argol'', 1938 (novel) (English translation: ''[[The Castle of Argol]]'')
*''Un beau ténébreux'', 1945 (novel) (English translation: ''[[A Dark Stranger]]'')
*''Un beau ténébreux'', 1945 (novel) (English translation: ''[[A Dark Stranger]]'')
*''Liberté grande'', 1947 (poetry)
*''Liberté grande'', 1946 (poetry) (English translation: ''Great Liberty'')
*''Le Roi pêcheur'', 1948 (play)
*''Le Roi pêcheur'', 1948 (play)
*''André Breton, quelques aspects de l'écrivain'', 1948 (critique)
*''André Breton, quelques aspects de l'écrivain'', 1948 (critique)
*''La Littérature à l'estomac'', 1949
*''La Littérature à l'estomac'', 1949
*''Le Rivage des Syrtes'', 1951 (novel) (English translation: ''[[The Opposing Shore]]'')
*''Le Rivage des Syrtes'', 1951 (novel) (English translation: ''[[The Opposing Shore]]'')
*''Prose pour l'Etrangère'', 1952
*''Prose pour l'Étrangère'', 1952
*''Penthésilée'', 1954 (play; translation of Kleist's ''Penthesilea'')
*''Penthésilée'', 1954 (play; translation of Kleist's ''Penthesilea'')
*''Un balcon en forêt'', 1958 (novel) (English translation: ''[[A Balcony in the Forest]]'')
*''Un balcon en forêt'', 1958 (novel) (English translation: ''[[Balcony in the Forest]]'')
*''Préférences'', 1961
*''Préférences'', 1961
*''Lettrines'', 1967
*''Lettrines'', 1967
Line 69: Line 69:
*''Le Roi Cophetua'', 1970 (novel) (English translation: ''King Cophetua''); it inspired the film ''[[Rendezvous at Bray]]'', directed by [[André Delvaux]]
*''Le Roi Cophetua'', 1970 (novel) (English translation: ''King Cophetua''); it inspired the film ''[[Rendezvous at Bray]]'', directed by [[André Delvaux]]
*''Lettrines II'', 1974
*''Lettrines II'', 1974
*''Les Eaux Etroites'', 1976 (Allusions, allegories and metaphors on a French river, l'Èvre.) (English title: ''[[The Narrow Waters]]'')
*''Les Eaux Étroites'', 1976 (Allusions, allegories and metaphors on a French river, l'[[Èvre]].) (English title: ''[[The Narrow Waters]]'')
*''En lisant en écrivant'', 1980 (English translation: ''[[Reading Writing]]'')
*''En lisant en écrivant'', 1980 (English translation: ''[[Reading Writing]]'')
*''La Forme d'une ville'', 1985 (English translation: ''[[The Shape of a City]]'')
*''La Forme d'une ville'', 1985 (English translation: ''[[The Shape of a City]]'')
Line 77: Line 77:


==See also==
==See also==
*[[Le Monde's 100 Books of the Century|''Le Monde'''s 100 Books of the Century]], a list which includes ''The Opposing Shore''
*[[Le Monde's 100 Books of the Century|''Le Monde''{{'}}s 100 Books of the Century]], a list which includes ''The Opposing Shore''


==References==
==References==
Line 87: Line 87:
==External links==
==External links==
{{Wikinews|French writer Julien Gracq dies at 97}}
{{Wikinews|French writer Julien Gracq dies at 97}}
* [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article3110849.ece Obituary in ''The Times'', 31 December 2007]
* [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article3110849.ece Obituary in ''The Times'', 31 December 2007]{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}


{{Prix Goncourt}}
{{America Award in Literature}}
{{America Award in Literature}}
{{Portal bar|French and Francophone literature|Biography}}
{{Portal bar|Biography}}


{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}

Latest revision as of 00:12, 27 September 2024

Julien Gracq
Gracq in 1951
Gracq in 1951
BornLouis Poirier
(1910-07-27)27 July 1910
Saint-Florent-le-Vieil, Maine-et-Loire, France
Died22 December 2007(2007-12-22) (aged 97)
Angers, France
OccupationNovelist, critic, playwright, poet
EducationUniversity of Paris
Period1938–2002
Signature

Julien Gracq (French: [gʁak]; 27 July 1910 – 22 December 2007; born Louis Poirier in Saint-Florent-le-Vieil, in the French département of Maine-et-Loire) was a French writer.[1] He wrote novels, critiques, a play, and poetry. His literary works were noted for their dreamlike abstraction, elegant style and refined vocabulary. He was close to the surrealist movement, in particular its leader André Breton.[1]

Life

[edit]

Gracq first studied in Paris at the Lycée Henri IV, where he earned his baccalauréat. He then entered the École Normale Supérieure in 1930, later studying at the École libre des sciences politiques (Sciences Po.), both schools of the University of Paris at the time.

In 1932, he read André Breton's Nadja, which deeply influenced him. His first novel, The Castle of Argol, is dedicated to that surrealist writer, to whom he devoted a whole book in 1948.

In 1936, he joined the French Communist Party but quit the party in 1939 after the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact was signed.[2]

During the Second World War, he was a prisoner of war in Silesia with other officers of the French Army. One of the friendships he formed there was with author and literary critic Armand Hoog, who later described Gracq as a passionate individualist and ferociously anti-Vichy.[3]

In 1950, he published a fierce attack on contemporary literary culture and literary prizes in the review Empédocle titled La Littérature à l'estomac. When he won the Prix Goncourt for The Opposing Shore (Le Rivage des Syrtes) the following year, he remained consistent with his criticism and refused the prize.[1]

Gracq taught history and geography in secondary school (high school) until he retired in 1970.

In 1979, he wrote the foreword to a re-edition of the Journal de l'analogiste (1954) by Suzanne Lilar, a work he called a "sumptuous initiation to poetry" ("une initiation somptueuse à la poésie").

In 1989, Gracq's work was published by the Bibliothèque de la Pléiade. He remained distant from major literary events and faithful to his first publisher, José Corti.

Gracq lived a quiet life in his native town of Saint-Florent-le-Vieil, on the banks of the river Loire. On 22 December 2007, a couple of days after suffering a dizzy spell, he died at the age of 97 in a hospital in Angers.

The Opposing Shore

[edit]
Main article: The Opposing Shore

The Opposing Shore (Le Rivage des Syrtes, 1951) is Julien Gracq's most famous novel.

A novel of waiting, it is set in an old fortress close to a sea which defines the ancestral border between the stagnant principality of Orsenna and the territory of its archenemy, the mysterious Farghestan. Its lonely characters are caught in a no man's land, waiting for something to happen and wondering whether something should be done to bring about change, particularly when change may mean the death of civilisations.

Works

[edit]
  • Au château d'Argol, 1938 (novel) (English translation: The Castle of Argol)
  • Un beau ténébreux, 1945 (novel) (English translation: A Dark Stranger)
  • Liberté grande, 1946 (poetry) (English translation: Great Liberty)
  • Le Roi pêcheur, 1948 (play)
  • André Breton, quelques aspects de l'écrivain, 1948 (critique)
  • La Littérature à l'estomac, 1949
  • Le Rivage des Syrtes, 1951 (novel) (English translation: The Opposing Shore)
  • Prose pour l'Étrangère, 1952
  • Penthésilée, 1954 (play; translation of Kleist's Penthesilea)
  • Un balcon en forêt, 1958 (novel) (English translation: Balcony in the Forest)
  • Préférences, 1961
  • Lettrines, 1967
  • La Presqu'île, 1970
  • Le Roi Cophetua, 1970 (novel) (English translation: King Cophetua); it inspired the film Rendezvous at Bray, directed by André Delvaux
  • Lettrines II, 1974
  • Les Eaux Étroites, 1976 (Allusions, allegories and metaphors on a French river, l'Èvre.) (English title: The Narrow Waters)
  • En lisant en écrivant, 1980 (English translation: Reading Writing)
  • La Forme d'une ville, 1985 (English translation: The Shape of a City)
  • Autour des sept collines, 1988
  • Carnets du grand chemin, 1992
  • Entretiens, 2002

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "Julien Gracq, 97, Iconoclastic French Surrealist Writer". The New York Times. 24 December 2007.
  2. ^ Bowd, Gavin (Summer 2004). "The Political Landscapes of Julien Gracq". Dalhousie French Studies. 67: 121–133.
  3. ^ Bernhild Boie, « Chronologie », in Julien Gracq, Œuvres I, Paris, Gallimard, Bibliothèque de la Pléiade, p. LXI.
[edit]
Wikinews has related news:
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Julien_Gracq&oldid=1247973263"