Dominique de Roux (17 September 1935 – 29 March 1977) was a French writer and publisher.

Early life

Dominique de Roux was born in a Languedoc noble family that was close to monarchist circles (his grandfather, Marie de Roux, was the lawyer of Charles Maurras and Action Française). While deeply attached to his

Charente Charente (; Saintongese: ''Chérente''; oc, Charanta ) is a department in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, south western France. It is named after the river Charente, the most important and longest river in the department, an ...

land, Dominique de Roux showed an early independence and the desire to devote himself to literature. In 1960 he married Jacqueline Brusset, daughter of Gaullist deputy Max Brusset. Their son Pierre-Guillaume Roux was born in 1963 and later became a publisher.

Career

In the late 1950s de Roux created several language courses in Germany, Spain and England. Upon his return to France, he founded with several friends (including his brother

Xavier de Roux Xavier de Roux (4 December 1940 – 5 June 2015) was a French politician. He was a member of the Radical Party and a deputy for the department Charente-Maritime in the National Assembly of France from 1993 until 1997 and from 2002 until 2007 ...

, his sister Marie-Helene de Roux and

Jean Thibaudeau Jean Thibaudeau (7 March 1935 – 18 December 2013) was a French writer and translator. A novelist, essayist, playwright and translator, he was a member of the editorial board of the literary magazine ''Tel Quel''. He translated into French w ...

) the mimeographed bulletin ''L'Herne'', where he published his "Confidences to Guillaume", a chronicle of lyrical cynicism addressed to his

geranium ''Geranium'' is a genus of 422 species of annual, biennial, and perennial plants that are commonly known as geraniums or cranesbills. They are found throughout the temperate regions of the world and the mountains of the tropics, but mostly in ...

. He served in the French military. In 1960 he published his first novel, ''Mademoiselle Anicet'', and redeveloped his review in the final form of the ''Cahiers de l'Herne'', a collection of monographs devoted to ignored or cursed literary figures, including articles, documents and unpublished texts. After volumes on René-Guy Cadou (1961) and

Georges Bernanos Louis Émile Clément Georges Bernanos (; 20 February 1888 – 5 July 1948) was a French author, and a soldier in World War I. A Catholic with monarchist leanings, he was critical of elitist thought and was opposed to what he identified as defea ...

(1962), he penned books about Borges, Louis-Ferdinand Celine,

Ezra Pound Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an expatriate American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a Fascism, fascist collaborator in Italy during World War II. His works ...

, Witold Gombrowicz and

Pierre Jean Jouve Pierre Jean Jouve (11 October 1887 – 8 January 1976) was a French writer, novelist and poet.Michael Sheringham, 'Jouve, Pierre-Jean', ''Oxford Companion to French Literature''Onlineat answers.com He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literat ...

. He directed books devoted to Burroughs, Pélieu, Henri Michaux,

Ungaretti Giuseppe Ungaretti (; 8 February 1888 – 2 June 1970) was an Italian modernist poet, journalist, essayist, critic, academic, and recipient of the inaugural 1970 Neustadt International Prize for Literature. A leading representative of the experim ...

, Louis Massignon, Lewis Carroll, H. P. Lovecraft,

Alexander Solzhenitsyn Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn. (11 December 1918 – 3 August 2008) was a Russian novelist. One of the most famous Soviet dissidents, Solzhenitsyn was an outspoken critic of communism and helped to raise global awareness of political repress ...

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, Dostoyevsky, Karl Kraus, Gustav Meyrink, Thomas Mann, Edgar Allan Poe,

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...

, Arthur Koestler and Raymond Abellio, who imposed '' L'Herne'' on the French literary scene. In 1966, the publication of his essay ''La Mort de L.-F. Céline'' inaugurated the publishing house that he co-founded with Christian Bourgois, named after the latter. Meanwhile, '' L'Herne'' added publishing to its activities. At thirty, de Roux became a prominent figure of French literature, omnipresent and rough in his polemics, especially against the

Tel Quel ''Tel Quel'' (translated into English as, variously: "as is," "as such," or "unchanged") was a French avant-garde literary magazine published between 1960 and 1982. History and profile ''Tel Quel'' was founded in 1960 in Paris by Philippe Soll ...

group. After listening to poets and writers of the ''

beat generation The Beat Generation was a literary subculture movement started by a group of authors whose work explored and influenced American culture and politics in the post-war era. The bulk of their work was published and popularized by Silent Generatio ...

'' (especially Claude Pélieu, Allen Ginsberg and Bob Kaufman) and meeting with Gombrowicz, to whom he devoted an essay and a book of interviews, he revealed the possibility to leave Paris. Two traumatic events happened: the censorship of his collection of aphorisms ''Immédiatement'' (1971) at the request of Roland Barthes (called a "shepherdess") and

Maurice Genevoix Maurice Genevoix (; 29 November 1890 – 8 September 1980) was a French author. Life Born on 29 November 1890 at Decize, Nièvre as Maurice-Charles-Louis-Genevoix, Genevoix spent his childhood in Châteauneuf-sur-Loire. After attending the loca ...

(presented as a "writer for field mice") and the takeover of ''L'Herne'' by Constantin Tacou in favor of financial maneuvers later in 1973. Dominique de Roux began a life of wandering and settled briefly in Lisbon and then in Geneva. Under these conditions he started his new magazine ''Exil'' and launched a new book series, ''Dossiers H'', published by

Éditions L'Âge d'Homme Éditions L'Âge d'Homme is a publishing company founded in Lausanne in 1966 by . History The company first became known for its French-language editions of Slavic-language literature but soon diversified its publishing line, which includes journa ...

. He published pamphlets and devoted considerable to journalism and television, working as a correspondent in the Portuguese world at the times of implosion and war in its colonies ( Guinea-Bissau, Angola, Mozambique). De Roux networked in the

lusophone Lusophones ( pt, Lusófonos) are ethnic group, peoples that speak Portuguese language, Portuguese as a native language, native or as common second language and nations where Portuguese features prominently in society. Comprising an estimated 270 m ...

world, primarily serving the SDECE and because of his adherence to a "political transcendentalism" inspired by reading Raymond Abellio with whom his relations were intensifying at the time.French visions for a New Europe
/ref> This is embodied in his utopia of a "Gaullist International" and in his idea that Portugal represented the assumption of a universal civilization. In April 1974, at the time of the

Carnation Revolution The Carnation Revolution ( pt, Revolução dos Cravos), also known as the 25 April ( pt, 25 de Abril, links=no), was a military coup by left-leaning military officers that overthrew the authoritarian Estado Novo regime on 25 April 1974 in Lisbo ...

, de Roux was the only French journalist present at Lisbon, and probably one of the foreigners with the most direct access to General Spínola. He devoted years to assist the Angolan opposition leader

Jonas Savimbi Jonas Malheiro Savimbi (; 3 August 1934 – 22 February 2002) was an Angolan revolutionary politician and rebel military leader who founded and led the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). UNITA waged a guerrilla war agai ...

to deal with international press and foreign ministries, as well as to conduct guerrilla warfare. This contribution gave impetus to his final works: ''Le Cinquième Empire'' published two weeks before his sudden death at age 41, of a heart attack linked to

Marfan syndrome Marfan syndrome (MFS) is a multi-systemic genetic disorder that affects the connective tissue. Those with the condition tend to be tall and thin, with long arms, legs, fingers, and toes. They also typically have exceptionally flexible joints a ...

, and the posthumous ''La Jeune fille au ballon rouge'' et ''Le Livre nègre''.

Works

;Novels * ''Mademoiselle Anicet'', Julliard, 1960 ; réed. Le Rocher, 1998 * ''L'Harmonika-Zug'', La Table Ronde, 1963 ; réed. Folio-Gallimard, 1983 * ''Maison jaune'', Bourgois, 1969, 1989 * ''Le Cinquième empire'', Belfond, 1977 ; réed. Le Rocher, 1997 * ''La Jeune fille au ballon rouge'', Bourgois, 1978 ; réed. Le Rocher, 2001 * ''Le Livre nègre'', Le Rocher, 1997 ;Poetry *''Le Gravier des vies perdues'', Lettera Amorosa, 1974 ; reprint

Le Temps qu'il fait Le Temps qu'il fait is a French publishing house, first established in Cognac, and active since 1981. History Created and directed by Georges Monti, Le Temps qu'il fait is now located at Bazas, in Gironde. The house draws its name from the epony ...

, 1985 ;Essays * ''La Mort de L.-F. Céline'', Petite Vermillon, réed. La Table ronde, 2007 * ''La Mort de L.-F. Céline'', Bourgois, 1966, réed. 1994 * ''L'Écriture de Charles de Gaulle'', Éditions universitaires, 1967 ; réed. Le Rocher, 1994 * ''L'Ouverture de la chasse'', L'Âge d'homme, 1968 ; réed. Le Rocher, 2005 * ''Contre Servan-Schreiber'', Balland, 1970 * ''Gombrowicz'', 10/18, 1971 ; réed. Bourgois, 1996 * ''Immédiatement'', Bourgois, 1972 ; réed. La Table ronde, 1995 et 2009 * ''Ne traversez pas le Zambèze'', La Proue, 1973 * ''La France de Jean Yanne'', Calmann-Lévy, 1974 * ''Gamal Abdel Nasser'', L'Âge d'homme, 2002 * ''Il faut partir : Correspondances inédites (1953-1977)'', Fayard, 2007

References

External links

La Société des Lecteurs de Dominique de Roux

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roux, Dominique de 20th-century French non-fiction writers French publishers (people) Writers from Boulogne-Billancourt 1935 births 1977 deaths 20th-century French male writers People with Marfan syndrome