Pierre Gascar
Encyclopedia
Pierre Fournier, better known as Pierre Gascar (13 March 1916 in Paris – 20 February 1997 in Lons-le-Saunier), was a French journalist, literary critic, writer, essayist and screenwriter.
after his mother was institutionalised. His troubled childhood would later inspire him to write La Graine and Meilleur de la Vie. Returning to Paris after completing high school, he became involved in left wing politics and began to associate with writers. His imprisonment in a German stalag
during the Second World War heavily influenced his writing during that period. In Le temps des Morts, Gascar recounts his time spent working as a gravedigger at the Rava-Ruska
prison camp in Ukraine
, during which time he was conscripted to track down Jews
hiding in the area.
Gascar became a journalist after the end of the war. In 1953, after winning the Prix Goncourt
for Les Bêtes and Le temps des morts, he decided to devote himself entirely to his literary work. His writing, characterised by an exploration of the relationship between plants, animals and people, began to gain greater appreciation from the general public. He started to write biographies, focusing on personalities in which he recognised parts of himself, such as his thirst for knowledge, his independence and his feelings of restlessness. Among the figures he wrote about were Humbolt, Buffon and Bernard Palissy. Aside from his biographical work, he took to writing studies of nature, taking a poetic and philosophical approach. Major works of this kind include Le présage, Les sources and Le règne végétal.
The screenplay of Georges Franju
's film Les Yeux sans visage was in large part written by Gascar. Other works include plays, notably Les pas perdus, picture books and prefaces.
After winning the Grand Prix
of the Académie Française
, he won the Prix Roger Caillois in 1994. Gascar shared Caillois
' fascination with the natural world, while however retaining a firm focus on its relationship with human society.
He died in 1997. The majority of his works were published by Éditions Gallimard
.
Biography
Born in Paris in 1916 to a working class family, Pierre Gascar lived part of his childhood in PérigordPérigord
The Périgord is a former province of France, which corresponds roughly to the current Dordogne département, now forming the northern part of the Aquitaine région. It is divided into four regions, the Périgord Noir , the Périgord Blanc , the Périgord Vert and the Périgord Pourpre...
after his mother was institutionalised. His troubled childhood would later inspire him to write La Graine and Meilleur de la Vie. Returning to Paris after completing high school, he became involved in left wing politics and began to associate with writers. His imprisonment in a German stalag
Stalag
In Germany, stalag was a term used for prisoner-of-war camps. Stalag is a contraction of "Stammlager", itself short for Kriegsgefangenen-Mannschafts-Stammlager.- Legal definitions :...
during the Second World War heavily influenced his writing during that period. In Le temps des Morts, Gascar recounts his time spent working as a gravedigger at the Rava-Ruska
Rava-Ruska
Rava-Ruska is a city in the Lviv Oblast of western Ukraine.It is located near the border with Poland, opposite the town of Hrebenne. It is located in the Zhovkva Raion at around . The current estimated population is 8,100 ....
prison camp in Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, during which time he was conscripted to track down Jews
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
hiding in the area.
Gascar became a journalist after the end of the war. In 1953, after winning the Prix Goncourt
Prix Goncourt
The Prix Goncourt is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year"...
for Les Bêtes and Le temps des morts, he decided to devote himself entirely to his literary work. His writing, characterised by an exploration of the relationship between plants, animals and people, began to gain greater appreciation from the general public. He started to write biographies, focusing on personalities in which he recognised parts of himself, such as his thirst for knowledge, his independence and his feelings of restlessness. Among the figures he wrote about were Humbolt, Buffon and Bernard Palissy. Aside from his biographical work, he took to writing studies of nature, taking a poetic and philosophical approach. Major works of this kind include Le présage, Les sources and Le règne végétal.
The screenplay of Georges Franju
Georges Franju
-External links:* at Allmovie...
's film Les Yeux sans visage was in large part written by Gascar. Other works include plays, notably Les pas perdus, picture books and prefaces.
After winning the Grand Prix
Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française
Le Grand Prix du Roman is a French literary award, created in 1918, and given each year by the Académie française. Along with the Prix Goncourt, it is one of the oldest and most prestigious literary awards in France...
of the Académie Française
Académie française
L'Académie française , also called the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution,...
, he won the Prix Roger Caillois in 1994. Gascar shared Caillois
Roger Caillois
Roger Caillois was a French intellectual whose idiosyncratic work brought together literary criticism, sociology, and philosophy by focusing on subjects as diverse as games, play and the sacred...
' fascination with the natural world, while however retaining a firm focus on its relationship with human society.
He died in 1997. The majority of his works were published by Éditions Gallimard
Éditions Gallimard
Éditions Gallimard is one of the leading French publishers of books. The Guardian has described it as having "the best backlist in the world". In 2003 it and its subsidiaries published 1418 titles....
.
Works
- Les Meubles, Gallimard, Paris, 1949 : 260 p. (ISBN 2-07-022671-9)
- Le visage clos, Gallimard, Paris, 1951 : 224 p. (ISBN 2-07-022672-7)
- Les Bêtes, Gallimard, Paris, Prix Goncourt en 1953, 1978 : 210 p. (ISBN 2-07-029925-2)
- Le temps des morts, Gallimard, Paris, 1953, 1998 (Le rêve russe): 176 p. (ISBN 2-07-022673-5)
- Chine Ouverte, Gallimard, Paris, 1955 : 188 p. (ISBN 2-07-022675-1)
- Les Femmes, Gallimard, Paris, 1955, 1997 : 210 p. (ISBN 2-07-022676-X)
- La graine, Gallimard, Paris, 1955 : 216 p. (ISBN 2-07-022674-3)
- L'herbe des rues, Gallimard, Paris, 1956 : 216 p. (ISBN 2-07-022677-8)
- Les pas perdus, Gallimard, Paris, 1958 : 240 p. (ISBN 2-07-022680-8)
- Voyage chez les vivants, Gallimard, Paris, 1958 : 264 p. (ISBN 2-07-022678-6)
- La barre de corail & Les aveugles de Saint-Xavier, Gallimard, Paris, 1958 : 232 p. (ISBN 2-07-022679-4)
- Soleils, Gallimard, Paris, 1960 : 160 p. (ISBN 2-07-022681-6)
- Le fugitif, Gallimard, Paris, 1961 : 320 p. (ISBN 2-07-022682-4)
- Les moutons de feu, Gallimard, Paris, 1963 : 336 p. (ISBN 2-07-022684-0)
- Le meilleur de la vie, Gallimard, Paris, 1964 : 336 p. (ISBN 2-07-022683-2)
- Les Charmes, Gallimard, Paris, 1965 : 280 p. (ISBN 2-07-022685-9)
- Histoire de la captivité des français en Allemagne (1939–1945), Gallimard, Paris, 1967: 320 p. (ISBN 2-07-022686-7)
- Auto, Gallimard, Paris, 1968 : 108 p. (ISBN 2-07-027023-8)
- Les Chimères, Gallimard, Paris, 1969 : 232 p. (ISBN 2-07-027024-6)
- L'arche, Gallimard, Paris, 1971 : 240 p. (ISBN 2-07-027769-0)
- Rimbaud et la Commune, Gallimard, Paris, 1971 : 192 p. (ISBN 2-07-035229-3)
- Le présage, Gallimard, Paris, 1972 : 192 p. (ISBN 2-07-028270-8)
- Les sources, Gallimard, Paris, 1975 : 272 p. (ISBN 2-07-029230-4)
- Charles VI, le bal des ardents, Gallimard, Paris, 1977 : 280 p. (ISBN 2-07-029751-9)
- Le boulevard du crime, Hachette/Massin, Paris, 1980 : 156 p. (ISBN 2010075129)
- L'ombre de Robespierre, Gallimard, Paris, 1980 : 336 p. (ISBN 2-07-028620-7)
- Les secrets de maître Bernard – Bernard Palissy et son temps, Gallimard, Paris, 1980 : 288 p. (ISBN 2-07-028391-7)
- Le règne végétal, Gallimard, Paris, 1981 : 180 p. (ISBN 2-07-024882-8)
- Gérard de Nerval et son temps, Gallimard, Paris, 1981 : 336 p. (ISBN 2-07-023533-5)
- Buffon, Gallimard, Paris, 1983 : 267 p. (ISBN 2-07-070007-0)
- Le fortin, Gallimard, Paris, 1983 : 176 p. (ISBN 2-07-070008-9)
- Humboldt l'explorateur, Gallimard, Paris, 1985 : 216 p. (ISBN 2-07-070570-6)
- Le diable à Paris, Gallimard, Paris, 1984 : 224 p. (ISBN 2-07-070257-X)
- Pour le dire avec des fleurs, Gallimard, Paris, 1988 168 p. (ISBN 2-07-071385-7)
- Album Les écrivains de la révolution, Gallimard, Paris, 1989 320 p. (ISBN 2-07-011160-1)
- Portraits et Souvenirs, Gallimard, Paris, 1991 : 204 p. (ISBN 2-07-072202-3)
- La friche, Gallimard, Paris, 1993 : 168 p. (ISBN 2-07-073608-3)
- Montesquieu, Flammarion, Paris, 362 p 1988 (ISBN 2-08-066178-7)
- L'homme et l'animal, Albin Michel, 2000, 1986, 1974 (ISBN 2-22-600093-3)
- Du côté de chez Monsieur Pasteur, Paris, Odile Jacob, 1986 (ISBN 2-07-009353-8)
- Aïssé, Paris, Actes sud, 1998, 286 p (ISBN 2-74-271858-3)
- Le transsibérien, Paris, Actes sud, 1998, 55 p (ISBN 2-74-271859-1)
- Le bestiaire d'Horvat, Paris, Actes sud, 1995, 55 p (ISBN 2-74-270373-X)
- Ce difficile accord avec le monde, vertiges du présent, Paris, Arthaud, 1962
- Normandie, Paris, Arthaud, 1962, (ISBN 2-70-030216-8)
- La France, Paris, Arthaud, (ISBN 2-70-030469-1)
- La Chine et les chinois, Paris, Arthaud, 1962
- Chambord, Delpire éditeur, 1962
- Le cheveu, ouvrage collectif, Nathan, 1998, (ISBN 2-07-004153-4)
- Genève, Champ Vallon, 1993 (ISBN 2-90-352835-7)
- Dans la forêt humaine, Robert laffont, 1992 (ISBN 2-22-102380-3)
- Le gros chène, Robert laffont, 1992 (ISBN 2-22-102381-1)
- Quartier Latin, la mémoire, La table ronde, 1973, (ISBN 2-70-030216-8)
- Toffoli ou la force du destin, Hachette, 1979, 123 p, (ISBN 2-01-006937-4)
- Gescogne, Renaissance du livre, 1999, 128 p (ISBN 2-80-460275-3)
Critical Studies
- André Bernold, "Pierre Gascar. Le silence de la résorption", in La Nouvelle revue Française, n°539, December 1997 (reprinted in Soies brisées, Paris, Editions Hermann, 1999, p. 123–130).
- EddY Vannerom, "De la steppe au jardin, le végétal dans l'œuvre de Pierre Gascar", in revue MaYak, n°2, Flobecq, Belgique, Autumn 2007.