Roger Grenier (19 September 1919[1] â€" 8 November 2017) was a French
writer, journalist and radio animator. He was Regent of the Collège
de ’Pataphysique.[2]As a youth, Grenier lived in Pau, where
Andrélie[3] opened a shop selling glasses. During the Second World
War, he attended classes taught by Gaston Bachelard at the Sorbonne
while participating in the French Resistance before actively
participating in the 1944 liberation of Paris. In his memoir Paris ma
grand'ville, Grenier describes being briefly arrested and narrowly
avoiding execution by the Occupation forces on the boulevard
Saint-Germain. He was only able to escape after an argument in German
broke out among his captors. After the Liberation of Paris, he joined
Albert Camus at the newspaper Combat.[4] Grenier later went on to
write for the newspaper France Soir. As a journalist, he followed
post-war trials which inspired his first essay in 1949 Le Rôle
d'accusé. He left professional journalism in 1964 to assume a
position on the editorial board of the prominent French publishing
house Gallimard. A true man of letters, Grenier was actively involved
in many aspects of literary production and criticism. In addition to
working as a radio host and a writer for television and cinema, he was
a member of the board at Gallimard from 1964 up until his death. Young
authors frequently sought out his advice and submitted manuscripts to
him for consideration. Grenier was well connected among French authors
of his time, such as Joseph Kessel and Albert Camus (whose works
Grenier edited after Camus died in 1960), and writers abroad, such as
William Faulkner and Yukio Mishimo. His own writing has been
recognized by some of the most prominent literary institutions in
France. He is recipient of the Grand prix de l'Académie française in
1985 for his body of work of more than thirty works: novels including
the best-sellers Le Palais d'hiver 1965 and Ciné-roman Prix Femina in
1972, as well as essays on Chekov and F. Scott Fitzgerald and memoirs.
He is best known in the United States for his work The Difficulty of
Being a Dog (Les larmes d'Ulysse), translated by Alice Kaplan. Until
his death, he was writing and a busy conference attendee, speaking
about his works, literature, Gallimard, or his friends: Albert Camus,
and Brassaï.
writer, journalist and radio animator. He was Regent of the Collège
de ’Pataphysique.[2]As a youth, Grenier lived in Pau, where
Andrélie[3] opened a shop selling glasses. During the Second World
War, he attended classes taught by Gaston Bachelard at the Sorbonne
while participating in the French Resistance before actively
participating in the 1944 liberation of Paris. In his memoir Paris ma
grand'ville, Grenier describes being briefly arrested and narrowly
avoiding execution by the Occupation forces on the boulevard
Saint-Germain. He was only able to escape after an argument in German
broke out among his captors. After the Liberation of Paris, he joined
Albert Camus at the newspaper Combat.[4] Grenier later went on to
write for the newspaper France Soir. As a journalist, he followed
post-war trials which inspired his first essay in 1949 Le Rôle
d'accusé. He left professional journalism in 1964 to assume a
position on the editorial board of the prominent French publishing
house Gallimard. A true man of letters, Grenier was actively involved
in many aspects of literary production and criticism. In addition to
working as a radio host and a writer for television and cinema, he was
a member of the board at Gallimard from 1964 up until his death. Young
authors frequently sought out his advice and submitted manuscripts to
him for consideration. Grenier was well connected among French authors
of his time, such as Joseph Kessel and Albert Camus (whose works
Grenier edited after Camus died in 1960), and writers abroad, such as
William Faulkner and Yukio Mishimo. His own writing has been
recognized by some of the most prominent literary institutions in
France. He is recipient of the Grand prix de l'Académie française in
1985 for his body of work of more than thirty works: novels including
the best-sellers Le Palais d'hiver 1965 and Ciné-roman Prix Femina in
1972, as well as essays on Chekov and F. Scott Fitzgerald and memoirs.
He is best known in the United States for his work The Difficulty of
Being a Dog (Les larmes d'Ulysse), translated by Alice Kaplan. Until
his death, he was writing and a busy conference attendee, speaking
about his works, literature, Gallimard, or his friends: Albert Camus,
and Brassaï.
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