Robert Pinget (; 19 July 1919 – 25 August 1997) was a Swiss-born
French novelist and playwright associated with the
nouveau roman
The Nouveau Roman (, "new novel") is a type of French novel in the 1950s and 60s that diverged from traditional literary genres. Émile Henriot coined the term in an article in the popular French newspaper ''Le Monde'' on May 22, 1957 to describ ...
movement.
Life and work
Robert Pinget was born in
Geneva
Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
,
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
in 1919. After completing his law studies at the
Collège de Genève
In France, secondary education is in two stages:
* ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 14.
* ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for students between ...
and working as a lawyer for a year, he moved to Paris in 1946 to attend the
Ecole des Beaux-Arts where he studied painting under .
In 1951, he published his first novel, ''Entre Fantoine et Agapa''. After publishing two other novels, but then having his fourth rejected by
Gallimard, Pinget was recommended by
Alain Robbe-Grillet
Alain Robbe-Grillet (; 18 August 1922 – 18 February 2008) was a French writer and filmmaker. He was one of the figures most associated with the ''Nouveau Roman'' () trend of the 1960s, along with Nathalie Sarraute, Michel Butor and Claude Simo ...
and
Samuel Beckett
Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish writer of novels, plays, short stories, and poems. Writing in both English and French, his literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal, and Tragicomedy, tra ...
to Jérôme Lindon, head of
Éditions de Minuit, where he published ''Graal Flibuste'' in 1956, and subsequently the rest of his work. He became a French citizen in 1960, and purchased a 16th-century house in
Touraine
Touraine (; ) is one of the traditional provinces of France. Its capital was Tours. During the political reorganization of French territory in 1790, Touraine was divided between the departments of Indre-et-Loire, :Loir-et-Cher, Indre and Vien ...
where he spent the rest of his life.
Scholars and critics have often associated his work with that of his friend
Samuel Beckett
Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish writer of novels, plays, short stories, and poems. Writing in both English and French, his literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal, and Tragicomedy, tra ...
, whom he met in 1955.
He died of a stroke in
Tours
Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...
in 1997.
Adaptations
''
The Old Tune'', Samuel Beckett's free translation of ''La Manivelle'', was produced by
Barbara Bray
Barbara Bray (née Jacobs; 24 November 1924 – 25 February 2010) was an English translator and critic.
Early life
Bray was born in Maida Vale, London; her father had Belgian and Jewish origins. An identical twin (her sister Olive Classe was al ...
and broadcast on
BBC Third Programme
The BBC Third Programme was a national radio station produced and broadcast from 1946 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 3. It first went on the air on 29 September 1946 and became one of the leading cultural and intellectual forces ...
on 23 August 1960.
In 1962,
Germaine Tailleferre
Germaine Tailleferre (; born Marcelle Germaine Taillefesse; 19 April 18927 November 1983) was a French composer and the only female member of the group of composers known as ''Les Six''.
Biography
Marcelle Germaine Taillefesse was born at Saint- ...
of
Les Six set eleven of Pinget's poems in a song cycle entitled "
Pancarte pour Une Porte D'Entrée" (roughly translated as "Handbill for an Entrance") for medium voice and piano, commissioned by the American Soprano and Arts Patron
Alice Swanson Esty.
Bibliography
Novels
* ''Entre Fantoine et Agapa'' (La Tour de Feu, 1951). ''
Between Fantoine and Agapa'', trans.
Barbara Wright (Red Dust, 1982)
* ''Mahu ou le Matériau'' (
Robert Laffont, 1952). ''
Mahu or The Material'', trans. Alan Smith (Calder & Boyars, 1966; Dalkey Archive, 2005)
* ''Le Renard et la boussole'' (Gallimard, 1953).
* ''Graal Flibuste'' (
Ed. de Minuit, 1956). ''
Graal Flibuste'', trans. Anna Fitzgerald (Dalkey Archive, 2014)
* ''Baga'' (Ed. de Minuit, 1958). ''
Baga'', trans. John Stevenson (Calder & Boyars, 1967; 1984)
* ''Le Fiston'' (Ed. de Minuit, 1959).
''Monsieur Levert'', trans.
Richard Howard (Grove, 1961); also as ''No Answer'', trans. Richard N. Coe (Calder, 1961)
* ''L'Inquisitoire'' (Ed. de Minuit, 1962). ''
The Inquisitory'', trans. Donald Watson (Calder & Boyars, 1966; 1982; 2003)
* ''Quelqu'un'' (Ed. de Minuit, 1965). ''Someone'', trans. Barbara Wright (Red Dust, 1984)
* ''Le Libera'' (Ed. de Minuit, 1968). ''
The Libera Me Domine'', trans. Barbara Wright (Red Dust, 1978)
* ''Passacaille'' (Ed. de Minuit, 1969). ''Recurrent Melody'', trans. Barbara Wright (Calder & Boyars, 1975); republished as ''Passacaglia'' (Red Dust, 1978)
* ''Fable'' (Ed. de Minuit, 1971). ''Fable'', trans. Barbara Wright (Calder, 1980)
* ''Cette voix'' (Ed. de Minuit, 1975). ''
That Voice'', trans. Barbara Wright (Red Dust, 1982)
* ''L'Apocryphe'' (Ed. de Minuit, 1980). ''The Apocrypha'', trans. Barbara Wright (Red Dust, 1986)
* ''Monsieur Songe'' (Ed. de Minuit, 1982). ''
Monsieur Songe'', trans. Barbara Wright (Red Dust, 1988)
* ''Le Harnais'' (Ed. de Minuit, 1984). ''The Harness'' (1988)
* ''Charrue'' (Ed. de Minuit, 1985). ''Plough'' (1988)
* ''L'Ennemi'' (Ed. de Minuit, 1987). ''The Enemy'', trans. Barbara Wright (Red Dust, 1991)
* ''Du Nerf'' (Ed. de Minuit, 1990). ''Be Brave'', trans. Barbara Wright (Red Dust, 1994)
* ''Cette Chose'' (1967; 1990). By Robert Pinget and Jean Deyrolle (editor)
* ''Théo ou Le temps neuf'' (Ed. de Minuit, 1991). ''
Théo or The New Era'', trans. Barbara Wright (Red Dust, 1994)
* ''Tâches d'encre'' (Ed. de Minuit, 1997). ''
Traces of Ink'', trans. Barbara Wright (Red Dust, 2000)
* ''Mahu reparle'' (Ed. des Cendres, 2009)
* ''La Fissure, précédée de Malicotte-la-Frontière'' (Ed. MētisPresses, 2009)
* ''Jean Loiseau'', in ''
Histoires littéraires'' n° 40 (2010)
Plays
* ''Lettre morte'' (Ed. de Minuit, 1959). ''Dead Letter'' (1963)
* ''La Manivelle'' (Ed. de Minuit, 1960). Bilingual edition with
Samuel Beckett
Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish writer of novels, plays, short stories, and poems. Writing in both English and French, his literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal, and Tragicomedy, tra ...
's free translation, ''
The Old Tune''
* ''Clope au dossier'' (Ed. de Minuit, 1961). ''Clope'' (1963)
* ''Ici ou ailleurs, Architruc, L'Hypothèse'' (Ed. de Minuit, 1961)
* ''Autour de Mortin'' (Ed. de Minuit, 1965). ''About Mortin'' (1967)
* ''Abel et Bela'' (Ed. de Minuit, 1971). ''
Abel and Bela'', trans. Barbara Wright (Red Dust, 1987)
* ''Identité'' (Ed. de Minuit, 1971)
* ''Paralchimie'', suivi de ''Architruc, L'Hypothèse, Nuit'' (Ed. de Minuit, 1973)
* ''Un testament bizarre, et autres pièces'' (Ed. de Minuit, 1986). Includes: ''Un testament bizarre, Mortin pas mort, Dictée, Sophisme et sadisme, Le chrysanthème, Lubie''
* ''De rien'' (1992). ''About Nothing'' (1989)
* ''L'Affaire Ducreux, et autres pièces'' (1995). Includes: ''L'Affaire Ducreux, De rien, Nuit, Le bifteck''
Compilations in English
* ''Plays, Volume 1'' (Calder, 1963). Includes: ''The Old Tune'' (trans. Samuel Beckett); ''Clope'' (trans.
Barbara Bray
Barbara Bray (née Jacobs; 24 November 1924 – 25 February 2010) was an English translator and critic.
Early life
Bray was born in Maida Vale, London; her father had Belgian and Jewish origins. An identical twin (her sister Olive Classe was al ...
); ''Dead Letter'' (trans. Barbara Bray).
* ''Plays, Volume 2'' (Calder & Boyars, 1967). Includes: ''Architruc''; ''About Mortin''; ''The'' ''Hypothesis''. Translations by Barbara Bray.
* ''
Monsieur Songe'' (Red Dust, 1988). Also includes "The Harness" and "Plough"''.'' Translations by Barbara Wright.
* ''A Bizarre Will and Other Plays'' (Red Dust, 1989). Includes: ''A Bizarre Will''; ''Mortin Not Dead''; ''Dictation''; ''Sophism and Sadism''; ''The Chrysanthemum''; ''Crazy Notion''; ''Night''; and ''About Nothing.'' Translations by Barbara Wright.
* ''Trio'' (Dalkey Archive, 2005). Includes: ''Between Fantoine and Agapa''; ''That Voice''; ''Passacaglia.'' Translations by Barbara Wright.
Interviews and works about Pinget
* ''Robert Pinget: The Novel as Quest'', by Robert Henkels, 1977.
*
Jean-Louis de Rambures, "Comment travaillent les écrivains", Paris 1978 (includes an interview with R. Pinget, in French)
Awards and honors
* 1959: Prix Rambert, for ''Le Fiston''
* 1965:
Prix Femina
The Prix Femina is a French List of literary awards, literary prize awarded each year by an exclusively female jury. The prize, which was established in 1904, is awarded to French-language works written in prose or Verse (poetry), verse by male ...
, for ''Quelqu'un''
* 1987:
Grand prix national des Lettres
References
External links
*
The official website of Robert Pinget*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pinget, Robert
1919 births
1997 deaths
Scientists from Geneva
Prix Femina winners
20th-century French novelists
French male novelists
20th-century French male writers
Swiss emigrants to France