Conrad Detrez par Claude Truong-Ngoc 1981

Conrad Detrez (1 April 1937, in Roclenge-sur-Geer – 11 February 1985, in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

) was a Belgian (from 1982 on French) journalist, diplomat and novelist.

Biography

Conrad Detrez grew up in a small village in the Belgian countryside. In 1962 he travelled to Brazil as a lay missionary. He first stayed in

Volta Redonda Volta Redonda () is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro state of Brazil with an area of 182.81 km2, located from 350m to 707m above the sea level (22°31'23" S, 44°06'15" W) and with a pop ...

and from 1963 in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

. He was a university teacher while at the same time working in the

favela Favela () is an umbrella name for several types of impoverished neighborhoods in Brazil. The term, which means slum or ghetto, was first used in the Slum of Providência in the center of Rio de Janeiro in the late 19th century, which was b ...

s. He discovered his homosexuality and gradually became involved in the resistance to the military dictatorship that was installed in 1964 in Brazil. After being arrested and expelled from Rio de Janeiro in 1967, Detrez stayed some months in Paris, participating in the revolt of

May 68 May 68 () was a period of widespread protests, strikes, and civil unrest in France that began in May 1968 and became one of the most significant social uprisings in modern European history. Initially sparked by student demonstrations agains ...

. He returned to

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

where he became a journalist. In 1969 he secretly met and interviewed Brazilian guerrilla leader

Carlos Marighella Carlos Marighella (; 5 December 1911 – 4 November 1969) was a Brazilian politician, writer, and Marxist–Leninist militant. Critical of nonviolent resistance to the Brazilian military dictatorship, he founded the Ação Libertadora Naci ...

. In the 1970s Detrez stayed in Algeria (as a teacher) and in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

(as a radio journalist) after the Portuguese

Carnation Revolution The Carnation Revolution (), code-named Operation Historic Turn (), also known as the 25 April (), was a military coup by military officers that overthrew the Estado Novo government on 25 April 1974 in Portugal. The coup produced major socia ...

. Before his writing career Detrez translated books by the Brazilian writers

Jorge Amado Jorge Amado ( 10 August 1912 – 6 August 2001) was a Brazilian writer of the modernist school. He remains the best-known of modern Brazilian writers, with his work having been translated into some 49 languages and popularized in film, includi ...

and Antonio Callado. In 1978 he won the

Prix Renaudot The Prix Théophraste-Renaudot or () is a French literary award. History The prize was created in 1926 by ten art critics awaiting the results of deliberation of the jury of the Prix Goncourt. While not officially related to the Prix Goncour ...

for his autobiographical novel '' L'Herbe à brûler''. In 1982 Detrez became a diplomat for the French government in Nicaragua. He died of AIDS.

Critical reception

James Kirkup James Harold Kirkup (23 April 1918 – 10 May 2009) was an English poet, translator and travel writer. He wrote more than 45 books, including autobiographies, novels and plays. He wrote under many pen-names including James Falconer, Aditya Jha, ...

found ''Le dragueur de Dieu'' "beautifully written in a fluent, lucid and visionary manner" and praised the mixture of religious sensuality and intellectual mysticism.''

The Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

'', 4 September 1981.

Lydia Davis Lydia Davis (born July 15, 1947) is an American short story writer, novelist, essayist, and translator from French and other languages, who often writes very short stories. Davis has produced several new translations of French literary classics ...

translated two of Detrez's novels into English.

Works

* Carlos Marighella, Conrad Detrez, ''Pour la liberation du Bresil'' Aubier-Montaigne, 1970. * Márcio Moreira Alves, Conrad Detrez, Carlos Marighella, ''Zerschlagt die Wohlstandsinseln der Dritten Welt'', Rowohlt, 1971. *''Les pâtres de la nuit: roman'', Stock, 1975. *''L'herbe à brûler: roman'', 1977; Labor, 2003. *''A Weed for Burning'', Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1984. (translated by Lydia Davis) *''Caballero ou l'irrésistible corps de l'homme-dieu'', Galerie Jade, 1980. *''La lutte finale'', Balland, 1980; Balland, 1996. *''Le dragueur de Dieu: roman'', Calmann-Lévy, 1980. *''Les Noms de la tribu'', Seuil, 1981 *''Le mâle apôtre: poèmes'', Persona, 1982 *''La guerre blanche: roman'', Calmann-Lévy, 1982. *''La ceinture de feu: roman'', Gallimard, 1984. *''Zone of Fire'', Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1986. (translated by Lydia Davis) *''La mélancolie du voyeur'', Denoël, 1986. *''Ludo: roman'', Labor, 1988. *''Les plumes du coq'', Actes sud, 1995.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Detrez, Conrad Belgian male novelists Belgian writers in French Prix Renaudot winners Gay novelists 20th-century Belgian novelists 1937 births 1985 deaths 20th-century Belgian male writers Belgian gay writers Belgian LGBTQ novelists AIDS-related deaths in Belgium 20th-century Belgian LGBTQ people