Catherine Gradwohl (2 December 1949 – 2 January 2023), better known as Catherine David, was a Franco-American novelist, essayist and
literary critic
Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...
.
Life and career
After her secondary studies, Catherine David spent one year at the
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the earliest coeduca ...
in
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. Graduated from
Sciences Po
, motto_lang = fr
, mottoeng = Roots of the Future
, type = Public university, Public research university''Grande école''
, established =
, founder = Émile Boutmy
, a ...
Jean-Paul Enthoven
Jean-Paul Enthoven (born 11 January 1949) is a French publisher and journalist.''Who's Who in France'', 2008 edition, .
Biography Early life and education
Born in Mascara near Oran in French Algeria, Enthoven comes from a bourgeois Jewish fa ...
Jean-Jacques Pauvert
Jean-Jacques Pauvert (8 April 1926 – 27 September 2014) was a French publisher, notable for publishing the work of the Marquis de Sade in the early 1950s and as the first publisher of the '' Story of O'' (1954) and the first edition of Kenneth A ...
), she turned to literary criticism and journalism at the ''
Nouvel Observateur
(), previously known as (1964–2014), is a weekly French news magazine. Based in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris, it is the most prominent French general information magazine in terms of audience and circulation. Its current editor is Cécil ...
'' in the cultural field – literature, history, philosophy, psychoanalysis, human sciences, history of sciences, prehistory, astrophysics.
In 1984, she won the
Prix Contrepoint
The prix Contrepoint is a French literary award established in 1971 by a group of young French novelists and journalists. Each year a French-speaking novelist is selected.
According to Bertrand Labes,. this prize was characterized at its creation ...
for her first novel, ''L'Océan miniature''.
David died in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
Éditions du Seuil
Éditions du Seuil (), also known as ''Le Seuil'', is a French publishing house established in 1935 by Catholic intellectual Jean Plaquevent (1901–1965), and currently owned by La Martinière Groupe. It owes its name to this goal "The ''seuil'' ...
, Prix Contrepoint
* 1990: ''Simone Signoret ou la mémoire partagée'', biographical essay,
Éditions Robert Laffont
Éditions Robert Laffont is a book publishing company in France founded in 1941 by Robert Laffont. Its publications are distributed in almost all francophone countries, but mainly in France, Canada and in Belgium.
It is considered one of the most ...
* 1994: ''La Beauté du geste'', essay on piano and
Tai chi
Tai chi (), short for Tai chi ch'üan ( zh, s=太极拳, t=太極拳, first=t, p=Tàijíquán, labels=no), sometimes called "shadowboxing", is an neijia, internal Chinese martial art practiced for defense training, health benefits and medita ...
,
Calmann-Lévy
Calmann-Lévy is a French publishing house founded in 1836 by Michel Lévy as ''Michel Lévy frères''. His brother Kalmus Calmann Lévy joined in 1844, and the firm was renamed ''Calmann Lévy'' in 1875 after Michel's death.Actes Sud
* 2010: ''Les Violons sur le moi : pourquoi la célébrité nous fascine'', cartoons by
Jean-Jacques Sempé
Jean-Jacques Sempé, usually known as Sempé (; 17 August 1932 – 11 August 2022), was a French cartoonist. He is known for the series of children's books he created with René Goscinny, ''Le Petit Nicolas'', and also for his poster-like illust ...
, essay,
Éditions Denoël
Éditions Denoël is a French culture, French publishing house founded in 1930. Acquired by Éditions Gallimard in 1951, it publishes collections spanning fiction, non-fiction and comic books. It published some of the most important French authors ...
In collaboration
* 1996: ''L'Occident en quête de sens'', anthology, preface by
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, a ...
, Maisonneuve et Larose
* 1998: ''Little Bang : Le roman des commencements'', with Jean-Philippe de Tonnac, novel, Nil Éditions
* 1998: ''Égyptes, anthologie de l'ancien Empire à nos jours'', anthology, Maisonneuve et Larose
* 1998: ''Entretiens sur la fin des temps'', conversations with
Stephen Jay Gould
Stephen Jay Gould (; September 10, 1941 – May 20, 2002) was an American paleontologist, evolutionary biologist, and historian of science. He was one of the most influential and widely read authors of popular science of his generation. Gould sp ...
,
Jean Delumeau
Jean Léon Marie Delumeau (18 June 1923 – 13 January 2020) was a French historian specializing in the history of the Catholic Church, and author of several books regarding the subject. He held the Chair of the History of Religious Mentalities ( ...
,
Jean-Claude Carrière
Jean-Claude Carrière (; 17 September 1931 – 8 February 2021) was a French novelist, screenwriter and actor. He received an Academy Award for best short film for co-writing '' Heureux Anniversaire'' (1963), and was later conferred an Honorary ...
and
Umberto Eco
Umberto Eco (5 January 1932 – 19 February 2016) was an Italian medievalist, philosopher, semiotician, novelist, cultural critic, and political and social commentator. In English, he is best known for his popular 1980 novel ''The Name of the ...
,
Fayard
Fayard (complete name: ''Librairie Arthème Fayard'') is a French Paris-based publishing house established in 1857. Fayard is controlled by Hachette Livre.
In 1999, Éditions Pauvert became part of Fayard. Claude Durand was director of Fayard ...
* 2000: ''Sommes-nous seuls dans l'Univers ?'', conversations with Jean Heidmann, Alfred Vidal-Madjar, Nicolas Prantzos and
Hubert Reeves
Hubert Reeves (born July 13, 1932), is a Canadian astrophysicist and popularizer of science.
Early life and education
Reeves was born in Montreal on July 13, 1932, and as a child lived in Léry. Reeves attended Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf, a ...
, Fayard
* 2003: ''Sous le regard des dieux'', conversation with
Christiane Desroches Noblecourt
Christiane Desroches Noblecourt (; 17 November 1913 – 23 June 2011) was a French Egyptologist. She was the author of many books on Egyptian art and history and was also known for her role in the International Campaign to Save the Monuments ...