Louis Calaferte

Louis Calaferte (French pronunciation: [lwi kalafɛrt]; 14 July 1928 - 2 May 1994) was an Italian-born French naturalized novelist. He was born in Turin, Italy, but emigrated to France with his parents when he was very young, In 1947, he set out for Paris to pursue his dream of becoming an actor, where he found a love for writing instead. This writing style resulted in a variety of literary prizes, including the Prix de l’Academie Française for Ebauche d’un autoportrait in 1983; for a collection of poems, Londoniennes in 1985; and for a collection of short stories, Promenades dans un parc in 1987. He is quoted as saying : “If I had to name two of my books that I loathe, it would be the first two; I would gladly see them disappear”. and his encounters with women. The most important female figure in the novel is without a doubt Nora, a Dutch woman who represents female emancipation and social success. Calaferte continued to regularly publish collections of poems and stories of an intimate and sensual nature; some of these were dreamlike and strange, and they were often linked to childhood. His plays explored the theme of family relations, using both a humorous and troubling tone. According to director Patrick Pelloquet, “ Louis Calaferte’s characters are more of a stereotype for certain behavior than characters in the strictest sense of the word”.

Until 1974, Calaferte worked for a Lyon radio station and at ORTF (Office de Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française). Among his friends, he was closest to writer Georges Piroué and theatre director Jean-Pierre Miquel. Miquel described Calaferte’s work as “honest, harsh and capable of crazy rhetoric, [while] never straying away from the psychological reality of its characters.” Louis Calaferte produced powerful and personal works. Among them was The Way It Works with Women (1992) (La méchanique des femmes), an unclassifiable short novel he published two years before his death, which was adapted for the screen in 2000 by Jérôme de Missolz; however, it did not experience great success. Calaferte reflected on his life as an author, saying: “For having written so much between the ages of thirteen and twenty, having presented two plays in Paris, and having my first book published at age of twenty-two, I deem myself to be talented beyond my years...The development of my thoughts and my ability to understand only flourished as I gradually matured over the years.”

Over the course of his career, Calaferte produced hundreds of works, mainly poetry and short story collections, as well as plays and notebooks. Louis Calaferte died on 2 May 1994 in Dijon, France. His wife, Guillemette, has proposed to the municipality her willingness to donate Calaferte’s work to the city, provided that there is a place dedicated to him. She has continued to publish the previously unseen volumes of his notebooks.

Works

Novels Requiem des innocents, 1952, publisher: Collection Folio (No 3388) (2000), Gallimard, Partage des vivants, 1953 Septentrion, 1963, publisher: Collection Folio (No 2142) (1990), Gallimard, No man's land, 1963, publisher: Collection L'Arpenteur, Gallimard, Satori, 1968, publisher: Collection Folio (No 2990) (1997), Gallimard, Rosa mystica, 1968, publisher : Collection Folio (No 2822) (1996), Gallimard, Portrait de l'enfant, 1969, publisher: Collection Romans français (1981), Denoël, Hinterland, 1971, publisher: Collection Romans français, Denoël, Limitrophe, 1972, publisher: Collection Romans français, Denoël, La vie parallèle, 1974, publisher: Collection Documents actualité, Denoël, Épisodes de la vie des mantes religieuses, 1976, publisher: Collection Romans français, Denoël, Voyage stellaire, 1977 Campagnes, 1979, publisher: Collection Romans français, Denoël, Ébauche d'un autoportrait, 1983, publisher: Collection Romans français, Denoël, Un riche, trois pauvres, 1986, publisher: éditions Hesse - L'Incarnation, 1987, publisher: Collection Romans français, Denoël, Promenade dans un parc, 1987, publisher: Collection Romans français, Denoël, Memento mori, 1988, publisher: Collection L'Arpenteur, Gallimard, Maître Faust, 1992, publisher: Collection L'Arpenteur, Gallimard, La Mécanique des femmes, 1992, publisher: Collection L'Arpenteur, Gallimard, C'est la guerre, 1993, publisher: Collection L'Arpenteur, Gallimard, Le Monologue, 1996, publisher: Collection L'Arpenteur, Gallimard, Droguerie du ciel, 1996, publisher: Hesse éditions, Le sang violet de l'améthyste, 1998, publisher: Collection L'Arpenteur, Gallimard, Suite villageoise, 2000, publisher: Hesse éditions,

Essays Les sables du temps, Éditions Le tout pour le tout, Paris, 1998 Droit de cité, 1992, Éditions Manya, Folio Gallimard (no 2670), 1995, L'homme vivant, Gallimard, L'arpenteur, 1994, Perspectives, illustrations de l'auteur, Éditions Hesse, 1995, Art-Signal, Éditions Hesse, 1996, Les fontaines silencieuses, publisher: Collection L'Arpenteur, Gallimard, 2005,

Notebooks Le chemin de Sion (1956-1967), Carnets, Denoël, 1980, L'or et le plomb (1968-1973), Carnets II, Denoël, 1981, Lignes intérieures (1974-1977), Carnets III, Denoël, 1985, Le Spectateur immobile (1978-1979), Carnets IV, Gallimard, L'arpenteur, 1990 Miroir de Janus (1980-1981), Carnets V, Gallimard, L'arpenteur, 1993, Rapports (1982), Carnets VI, Gallimard, L'arpenteur, 1996 Étapes (1983), Carnets VII, Gallimard, L'arpenteur, 1997, Trajectoires (1984), Carnets VIII, Gallimard, L'arpenteur, 1999, (.) Écriture (1985-1986), Carnets IX, Gallimard, L'arpenteur, 2001, Bilan (1987-1988), Carnets X, Gallimard, L'arpenteur, 2003, Circonstances (1989), Carnets XI, Gallimard, L'arpenteur, 2005, Traversée (1990), Carnets XII, Gallimard, L'arpenteur, 2006, Situation (1991), Carnets XIII, Gallimard, L'arpenteur, 2007, Direction (1992), Carnets XIV, Gallimard, L'arpenteur, 2008, Dimensions (1993), Carnets XV, Gallimard, L'arpenteur, 2009, Le jardin fermé (1994), Carnets XVI, Gallimard, L'arpenteur, 2010

Plays Aux armes, citoyens !, Baroquerie en un acte avec couplets 1986, Collection Romans français, Denoël, Théâtre complet, Éditions Hesse, 4 volumes (Pièces intimistes, 1993 et Pièces Baroques I, II et III, 1994, 1996 pour le dernier (23 pièces au total)

Poems Rag-Time, 1972, publisher: Collection Romans français, Denoël, Paraphe, 1974, publisher: Collection Romans français, Denoël, Londoniennes, 1985 Décalcomanies, 1987 A.B.C.D., Enfantines, avec les illustrations de Jacques Truphémus, Éditions Belle-fontaine, 1987 Haïkaï du jardin, 1991, publisher: Collection L'Arpenteur, Gallimard, Les métamorphoses du révolver, 1993 Ouroboros, 1995 Non-lieu, 1996 Pile ou face, 1996 Terre céleste, 1999 Imagerie, magie, 2000

Other works Une vie, une déflagration (entretiens avec Patrick Amine), Denoël, 1985 L’Aventure intérieure, (entretiens avec Jean-Pierre Pauty), Éditions Julliard, 1994 Choses dites, Entretiens et choix de textes, le Cherche Midi, 1997 Correspondance 1969-1994, avec Georges Piroué, éditions Hesse, 2001

Awards Prix Ibsen for the play "Les Miettes" (1978) Prix Lugné Poe (1979) Grand Prix de la littérature Dramatique de la Ville de Paris for his entire theatrical work (1984) Grand Prix national des lettres (1992)