Jean Proal (16 July 1904 – 24 February 1969) was a French writer.

Life

He wrote some short stories aged twenty-four and twenty-five then his first novel ''Tempête de printemps'' at age 28. Writers such as

Jean Giono Jean Giono (30 March 1895 – 8 October 1970) was a French writer who wrote works of fiction mostly set in the Provence region of France. First period Jean Giono was born to a family of modest means, his father a cobbler of Piedmontese descent a ...

, Roger Martin du Gard, ... encouraged him. He was friend with . Mobilized in 1939 in an artillery regiment, he was reformed in 1940 for health reasons.« L’Auteur, sa vie et son "histoire littéraire" », p 17 He had some difficulty in getting himself published, before signing at

Éditions Denoël Éditions Denoël is a French publishing house founded in 1930. Acquired by Éditions Gallimard in 1951, it publishes collections spanning fiction, non-fiction and comic books. It published some of the most important French authors of the interwar ...

, and despite the critic Léon Derey, he was considered only as a writer following Giono and Ramuz. In 1942, he was transferred to Paris, where he tried to obtain the

Prix Goncourt The Prix Goncourt (french: Le prix Goncourt, , ''The Goncourt Prize'') is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year". The prize carries a symbolic reward o ...

. He began to make himself known to the literary milieu, and received marks of esteem from authors such as

Max Jacob Max Jacob (; 12 July 1876 – 5 March 1944) was a French poet, painter, writer, and critic. Life and career After spending his childhood in Quimper, Brittany, he enrolled in the Paris Colonial School, which he left in 1897 for an artistic ca ...

Blaise Cendrars Frédéric-Louis Sauser (1 September 1887 – 21 January 1961), better known as Blaise Cendrars, was a Swiss-born novelist and poet who became a naturalized French citizen in 1916. He was a writer of considerable influence in the European mo ...

, Jean de La Varende and

Jean Rostand Jean Edmond Cyrus Rostand (30 October 1894, Paris – 4 September 1977, Ville-d'Avray) was a French biologist, historian of science, and philosopher. Active as an experimental biologist, Rostand became famous for his work as a science writer, as ...

His work amounts to a dozen novels, stories and short stories, and a few interviews. In 1950 he came to live in

Saint-Rémy-de-Provence Saint-Rémy-de-Provence (; Provençal Occitan: ''Sant Romieg de Provença'' in classical and ''Sant Roumié de Prouvènço'' in Mistralian norms) is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Southern France. L ...

where he became friends with

Louis Aragon Louis Aragon (, , 3 October 1897 – 24 December 1982) was a French poet who was one of the leading voices of the surrealist movement in France. He co-founded with André Breton and Philippe Soupault the surrealist review ''Littérature''. He ...

and painters such as

Hans Hartung Hans Hartung (21 September 1904 – 7 December 1989) was a German-French painter, known for his gestural abstract style. He was also a decorated World War II veteran of the Legion d'honneur. Life Hartung was born in Leipzig, Germany into an ar ...

and Mario Prassinos. He abandoned his post as official (receiver at registration) and opened a store of electrical appliances in 1951. He received the Grand prix du roman de la

société des gens de lettres Lactalis is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier SA. Lactalis is the largest dairy products group in the world, and is the se ...

for ''De sel et de cendre'' in 1953 and was the first Prix de Provence for the whole of his work in 1961. At his last moments in 1969, he wrote these words: "It is light that makes me breathe." He dies of a lung disease.« L’Auteur, sa vie et son "histoire littéraire" », p. 10

Works

Novels

*1932: ''Tempête de printemps'', Denoël *1933: ''À hauteur d’homme'', Denoël *1942: ''Les Arnaud'', Denoël *1943: ''Où souffle la lombarde'', Denoël,

Prix Cazes Brasserie Lipp is a brasserie located at 151 Boulevard Saint-Germain in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. It sponsors an annual literary prize, the Prix Cazes, named for a previous owner. History On , Léonard Lipp and his wife Pétronille opened ...

*1944: ''Montagne aux solitudes'', Denoël *1945: ''Bagarres'', Denoël *1948: ''Suite montagnarde'', Denoël *1948: ''Au pays du chamois'', Denoë *1953: ''De sel et de cendre'',

Éditions Julliard Éditions Julliard is a French publishing house. It was founded in 1942 by René Julliard. Julliard was known as a discoverer and publisher of talents, in particular Françoise Sagan and Jean d'Ormesson. After Julliard's death in July 1962, the ...

*1955: ''Le vin d’orage'', Julliard, 1955

Tales

*1950: ''Histoire de Lou'',

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

Essays

* ''Camargue'', Lausanne, Marguerat, with photographs by Denys Colomb de Daunant * ''Chasse en montagne'', Lausanne, Marguerat, 1962, with photographs by Charles Vaucher. * ''Chasse en plaine'', Lausanne, Marguerat, 1962, with photographs by different artists * ''Magie de la Camargue'', Ekkehard Presse, with photographs by Denys Colomb de Daunant.

Adaptation to film

* The novel ''Bagarres'' was adapted to cinema by

Henri Calef Henri Calef (20 July 1910 – 18 August 1994) was a French screenwriter and film director. Selected filmography Director * ''Jericho'' (1946) * ''The Royalists'' (1947) * ''Crossroads of Passion'' (1948) * '' Shadow and Light'' (1951) * '' ...

in 1948 under the same title '' Bagarres'', with

María Casares María Casares (21 November 1922 – 22 November 1996) was a Spanish-born French actress and one of the most distinguished stars of the French stage and cinema. She was credited in France as Maria Casarès. Early life Casares was born María V ...

and

Roger Pigaut Roger Pigaut (birth name Roger Paul Louis Pigot) (8 April 1919 – 24 December 1989) was a French actor and film director. He appeared in 40 films between 1943 and 1980. Partial filmography * ''Retour de flamme'' (1943) - Maurice * '' Lo ...

in the main roles.

Sources

* ''Jean Proal, une écriture saisissante'', bulletin issue 1 de l’Association des Amis de Jean Proal, 2007