François Bott (26 June 1935 – 22 September 2022) was a French author who after a long career as a journalist and literary critic became a writer of novels, one of which, ''Une minute d’absence'' (2001), won the

Académie Française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

's ''Prix de la Nouvelle''. He continued as a literary critic, writing essays focused on other writers, especially

Roger Vailland Roger Vailland (16 October 1907 – 12 May 1965) was a French novelist, essayist, and screenwriter. Biography Vailland was born in Acy-en-Multien, Oise. His novels include the prize winning ''Drôle de jeu'' (1945), ''Les mauvais coups'' (194 ...

Biography

After earning his

Licence A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

, Bott began as a journalist at ''

France-Soir ''France Soir'' ( en, France Evening) was a French newspaper that prospered in physical format during the 1950s and 1960s, reaching a circulation of 1.5 million in the 1950s. It declined rapidly under various owners and was relaunched as a popul ...

''. He then directed the literary pages of ''

L'Express ''L'Express'' () is a French weekly news magazine headquartered in Paris. The weekly stands at the political centre in the French media landscape, and has a lifestyle supplement, ''L'Express Styles'', and a job supplement, ''Réussir''. History ...

'' and founded '' Le Magazine Littéraire'' in 1967. The following year he joined the newspaper ''

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

'', where he directed ''Le Monde des livres'' from 1983 to 1991, replacing . In 1995, he decided to leave journalism to devote himself to writing books. Bott authored some thirty books, including novels and literary essays, such as ''La Demoiselle des Lumières'' and ''Sur la planète des sentiments'', works on writers and exceptional women. His retells the story of the

Vélodrome d'hiver The Vélodrome d'Hiver (, ''Winter Velodrome''), colloquially Vel' d'Hiv', was an indoor bicycle racing cycle track and stadium (velodrome) on rue Nélaton, not far from the Eiffel Tower in Paris. As well as a Track cycling, cycling track, it was ...

, from a cycling track to a place of repression and torture during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Bott was awarded the

's ''Prix de la Nouvelle'' in 2001 for ''Une minute d’absence''. Bott's last novel, ''Nos années éperdues '' (2015), was praised in the magazine '' Causeur'' for its portrayal of life in France in the 1950s, and particularly for the rendering of the correspondence between the two main characters. A member of the jury of the

prize, Bott has regularly participated in events on the work of the writer, including a lecture on ''Roger Vailland et 325.000 francs'', public reading of ', at

La Table ronde LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

publishing house entitled ''l'esprit de conquête'' (Vailland's work: Cortès, le conquérant de l'Eldorado). In particular, he published a reference book on Vailland: '. Bott was a regular contributor to the literary magazine '' Service littéraire''. He 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 ...

at the age of 87 on 22 September 2022.

Main works

Novels and essays

The books by Bott are held by the

French National Library French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

: *1969: ', éditions Grasset *1986: ''Lettres à Baudelaire, Chandler et quelques autres'', éditions

Albin Michel Albin may refer to: Places * Albin, Wyoming, US * Albin Township, Brown County, Minnesota, US * Albin, Virginia, US People * Albin (given name), origin of the name and people with the first name "Albin" * Albin (surname) ;Mononyms * Albin of ...

, 146 pages *1998: ''Sur la planète des sentiments'', portraits littéraires d'Emmanuel Berl à Stefan Zweig, Collection Amor Fati, Cherche Midi, *2002: ''Dieu prenait-il du café ?'', portraits littéraires du XIX, Collection Amor Fati, Cherche Midi *2007: ''Femmes de plaisirs'', Cherche Midi *2003: ''Femmes extrêmes'', Cherche Midi , *2005: ''Faut-il rentrer de Montevideo ?'', sur les traces de Lautréamont, collection Romans, août 2005, Éditions du Cherche Midi, *2008: , Édition du Cherche Midi, 2008, *2003: ''Radiguet : L'Enfant avec une canne'',

Éditions Gallimard Éditions Gallimard (), formerly Éditions de la Nouvelle Revue Française (1911–1919) and Librairie Gallimard (1919–1961), is one of the leading French book publishers. In 2003 it and its subsidiaries published 1,418 titles. Founded by Ga ...

, collection Folio, 220 pages, *1997: ''La Demoiselle des lumières'', Éditeur Gallimard, collection Un et l'Autre, *1996: ''Le Cousin de la marquise'', Éditeur Le Monde Éditions, collection Monde Éditions, *1988: ''Éloge de l'égotisme'', Éditeur Éditions de l'Instant, collection : Griffures, *2001: ''Une minute d'absence'', Éditeur Gallimard,

Collection Blanche The Collection Blanche is the great Collection (publishing), collection of French literature published by the Éditions Gallimard. It appeared in 1911, and at the beginning was nourished by the publications of ''Nouvelle Revue Française, La Nou ...

, 131 pages, *2006:'' Le Genre féminin'', Éditions des Équateurs *2004: ''L'Éclat de rire de la jeunesse'' *2008! ''Gina'', Éditions de La Table Ronde, collection La petite Vermillon, 193 pages, *2010: ''Écrivains en robe de chambre'', Éditions de

La Table Ronde LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

, collection La petite Vermillon, 280 pages, *2010: ''La Traversée des jours : Souvenirs de la République des Lettres (1958-2008)'', Éditions du Cherche Midi, 169 pages. *2014: ''Le Dernier Tango de Kees Van Dongen'', Éditions du Cherche Midi, 144 pages

Works written in collaboration

* ''Boulevard de l'océan'' par François de Cornière, preface by François Bott, Édition Le Castor Astral, collection Poche, May 2006 * ''Enquête poésie'' auprès de 250 revues littéraires, Édition Jean-Michel Place, collection Enquête, par Jean-Michel Place, François Bott, Jacques Lepage, et Michel Carassou, 1979 * ''Le Discours du chameau, suivi de Jenine et autres poèmes'' par Tahar Ben Jelloun et François Bott, Éditions Gallimard Poche, collection Poésie, March 2007, 543 pages, * ''Les Séductions de l'existence'', François Bott, Dominique Grisoni, Yves Simon, Roland Jaccard, LGF/Livre de poche, collection Biblio Essais, December 1989

References

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' 25 November 1987 {{DEFAULTSORT:Bott, Francois 1935 births 2022 deaths 20th-century French male writers 21st-century French journalists Prix Valery Larbaud winners 21st-century French novelists 20th-century French essayists 21st-century French essayists Historians of Paris French essayists 21st-century French male writers French male non-fiction writers People from Laon

Biography

Main works

Novels and essays

Works written in collaboration

Further reading

References

External links