Bernard Frank (11 October 1929 – 3 November 2006) was a French journalist and writer.
Early life
Bernard Frank was raised in a comfortable family, where his father was a bank manager. After his
baccalauréat
The ''baccalauréat'' (; ), often known in France colloquially as the ''bac'', is a French national academic qualification that students can obtain at the completion of their secondary education (at the end of the ''lycée'') by meeting certain ...
, he started a
Khâgne at the
Lycée Pasteur but was expelled for bad conduct. He tried again to complete his preparatory classes at the
lycée Condorcet
The Lycée Condorcet () is a secondary school in Paris, France, located at 8, rue du Havre, in the city's 9th arrondissement. Founded in 1803, it is one of the four oldest high schools in Paris and also one of the most prestigious. Since its inc ...
, but abandoned them out of boredom during the second trimester.
At the age of 20, Frank met
Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary criticism, literary critic, considered a leading figure in 20th ...
, who entrusted him on a trial basis with a column in his magazine, ''
Les Temps Modernes
''Les Temps Modernes'' () was a French journal, founded by Simone de Beauvoir, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Maurice Merleau-Ponty. Its first issue was published in October 1945. It was named after the 1936 film by Charlie Chaplin.
''Les Temps Moderne ...
''. He remained a periodic contributor, but after publication of his novel ''Les Rats'' (1953), he fell out with the magazine's management.
Career and journalism
During 1952–1953, Frank was in charge of the literary column in
''l'Observateur'', as a substitute for
Maurice Nadeau. He started his work on the weekly with a double page which he dedicated to
Drieu la Rochelle
Pierre Eugène Drieu La Rochelle (; 3 January 1893 – 15 March 1945) was a French writer of novels, short stories, and political essays. He was born, lived and died in Paris. Drieu La Rochelle became a proponent of French fascism in the 1930 ...
. He then coined the label "
Hussards", in a December 1952 article published in ''
Les Temps modernes
''Les Temps Modernes'' () was a French journal, founded by Simone de Beauvoir, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Maurice Merleau-Ponty. Its first issue was published in October 1945. It was named after the 1936 film by Charlie Chaplin.
''Les Temps Moderne ...
'', to designate writers such as
Roger Nimier
Roger Nimier (31 October 1925 – 28 September 1962) was a French novelist.
Life
Nimier was born in Paris, and served in the French Army, specifically in the 2nd Hussard Regiment in the Second World War (until 1945).
He began to write quite early ...
and
Antoine Blondin
Antoine Blondin (; 11 April 1922 – 7 June 1991) was a French writer.
He belonged to the literary group called the '' Hussards''. He was also a sports columnist in ''L'Équipe''. Blondin also wrote under the name Tenorio.
Biography
Blondin w ...
.
He also contributed to ''
Le Monde
(; ) is a mass media in France, French daily afternoon list of newspapers in France, newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average print circulation, circulation of 480,000 copies per issue in 2022, including ...
'', the ''Cahier des saisons'', the ''Nouveau Candide'', and ''
L'Actualité
''L'actualité'' is a Canadian French-language news and general interest magazine published in Montreal by Rogers Communications until 2016, then by Mishmash (XPND Capital). The magazine has over a million readers, according to Canada's Print Meas ...
''. "Every autumnn he disparaged the nominees for literary prizes, judging that too many bad novels are published, and mocked colleagues who found genius in the slightest nuance of the season; and just to push it, would double his ridicule just to wind them up."
At the end of 1961, Frank met the journalist
Jean Daniel
Jean Daniel Bensaid (21 July 1920 – 19 February 2020) was a French journalist and author. He was the founder and executive editor of '' Le Nouvel Observateur'' weekly now known as ''L'Obs''.
Life and career
Daniel was born in Blida, Algeria, ...
while hospitalised in a Neuilly clinic, where their mutual friend, the editor
Claude Perdriel
Claude Perdriel (born 25 October 1926) is owner-manager of the Perdriel Group that publishes '' Sciences et Avenir'', '' Challenges'', '' Rue89'' and during 1970–1980, the Paris daily ''Le Matin de Paris''. It also published ''Le Nouvel Obse ...
, thought "perhaps maliciously"
[Collectif, Pour Jean Daniel, Dreux, 1990, pp. 83–84.] to introduce them to one another. He again contributed to the ''Nouvel Observateur'' in the latter half of the 1960s.
Awards
Frank won the
Prix des Deux Magots
The Prix des Deux Magots () is a major French literary prize. It is presented to new works, and is generally awarded to works that are more off-beat and less conventional than those that receive the more mainstream Prix Goncourt.
The name derives ...
in 1971 for "''un Siècle débordé''", and the
Roger Nimier Prize The Roger Nimier Prize () is a French literature award. It is supposed to go to "a young author whose spirit is in line with the literary works of Roger Nimier". Nimier (1925–1962) was a novelist and a leading member of the Hussards (literary move ...
in 1981 for "''Solde''". That year he began a literary column in the daily ''
Le Matin de Paris
''Le Matin de Paris'' (, ''The Morning of Paris'') was a French daily newspaper, founded on 1 March 1977 by Claude Perdriel, and disappearing in 1987 ("dépôt de bilan" on 6 May). Its foundation is the subject of the documentary ''Numéros zéro ...
'' before rejoining ''Le Monde'' in 1985 and then ''Le Nouvel Observateur'' in 1989.
Death
Frank died of a heart attack 3 November 2006, while dining in a restaurant in the 8th Arrondissement of Paris. His wife said that he was discussing politics at the moment of his death.
Works
* 1952 : ''Grognards et hussards''
* 1953 : ''Géographie universelle''
* 1953 : ''Les Rats''
* 1955 : ''Israël''
* 1955 : ''L'Illusion comique''
* 1956 : ''Le Dernier des Mohicans''
* 1958 : ''La Panoplie littéraire''
* 1970 : ''Un Siècle débordé''
* 1980 : ''Solde''
* 2001(?) : ''Portraits et Aphorismes''
Notes
References
* Translated from the French Wikipedia article ''
Bernard Frank.''
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frank, Bernard
1929 births
2006 deaths
Writers from Neuilly-sur-Seine
20th-century French writers
20th-century French journalists
French literary critics
Roger Nimier Prize winners
Prix des Deux Magots winners
Lycée Condorcet alumni
Lycée Pasteur (Neuilly-sur-Seine) alumni
20th-century French male writers
French male non-fiction writers