Jean Prévost (13 June 1901 – 1 August 1944) was a French writer, journalist, and

Resistance Resistance may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Either of two similarly named but otherwise unrelated comic book series, both published by Wildstorm: ** ''Resistance'' (comics), based on the video game of the same title ** ''T ...

fighter.

Biography

Born in

Saint-Pierre-lès-Nemours Saint-Pierre-lès-Nemours (, literally ''Saint-Pierre near Nemours'') is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. Demographics Inhabitants of Saint-Pierre-lès-Nemours are called ''Saint-P ...

, Prévost was educated (from 1907 to 1911) at the primary school in

Montivilliers Montivilliers ( or ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Seine-Maritime Departments of France, department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region in northern France. Geography A large light industry, light industrial and farm ...

. near

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...

, where his father was principal. In 1911, he moved to the prestidigious '' Lycée Pierre Corneille'' in Rouen. In 1918, he transferred to the

lycée Henri-IV The Lycée Henri-IV is a public secondary school located in Paris. Along with the Lycée Louis-le-Grand, it is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious and demanding sixth-form colleges (''lycées'') in France. The school educates more than ...

in Paris, where he studied under the philosopher Alain, to prepare for his entry to the

École normale supérieure École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

, in 1919. In 1926 he married

Marcelle Auclair Marcelle Auclair (11 November 1899 – 6 June 1983) was a French novelist, biographer, journalist and poet. She published biographies of several important historical figures, translated major historical/literary documents into French from Spanish, ...

with whom he had three children (Michel, Françoise and Alain). They divorced in 1939. In June 1925,

Adrienne Monnier Adrienne Monnier (26 April 1892 – 19 June 1955) was a French bookseller, writer, and publisher, and an influential figure in the modernist writing scene in Paris in the 1920s and 1930s. Formative years Monnier was born in Paris on 26 April 18 ...

launched a

French language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Nor ...

review, ''

Le Navire d'Argent ''Le Navire d'Argent'' (''The Silver Ship'') was a short lived but influential literary review, published monthly in Paris from June 1925 until May 1926. It was "French in language, but international in spirit". Founded by Adrienne Monnier, with ...

'',English: "The Silver Ship" and invited Prévost to be its literary editor. ''Le Navire d'Argent'' was international in its scope and published American works in translation as well as devoting an issue (March 1926) to American writers including

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among t ...

, William Carlos Williams and

E. E. Cummings Edward Estlin Cummings, who was also known as E. E. Cummings, e. e. cummings and e e cummings (October 14, 1894 - September 3, 1962), was an American poet, painter, essayist, author and playwright. He wrote approximately 2,900 poems, two autobi ...

. It also first introduced

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...

in translation to French audiences. Prévost was the first to commission a work from

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Antoine Marie Jean-Baptiste Roger, comte de Saint-Exupéry, simply known as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (, , ; 29 June 1900 – 31 July 1944), was a French writer, poet, aristocrat, journalist and pioneering aviator. He became a laureate of s ...

, publishing The Aviator in the review's eleventh issue. After twelve issues, the project had to be abandoned as the effort and the cost was more than Monnier could bear. At the beginning of World War II, he was mobilized and assigned to telephone control at

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very cl ...

. After his first marriage ended, he married Claude Van Biema, a doctor. He was evacuated by sea to Casablanca and returned to France later.

French Resistance Member

He joined the underground National Committee of Writers, created by

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 wa ...

and his wife, and took part in the creation of the clandestine newspaper ''Les Étoiles'' at the end of 1942. He wrote a doctoral thesis: ''La création chez Stendhal, essai sur le métier d'écrire et la psychologie de l'écrivain'' (Creativity in

Stendhal Marie-Henri Beyle (; 23 January 1783 – 23 March 1842), better known by his pen name Stendhal (, ; ), was a 19th-century French writer. Best known for the novels ''Le Rouge et le Noir'' (''The Red and the Black'', 1830) and ''La Chartreuse de P ...

, essay on the craft of writing and the psychology of the writer), which won the grand prize for literature of 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 ...

in 1943. He was a

fighter under the name of Captaine Goderville (the village where his father was from). Biographer

Jérôme Garcin Jérôme Garcin (born 4 October 1956) is a French journalist and writer. He heads the cultural section of the ''Nouvel Observateur'', produces and hosts the radio program ' on France Inter, and is a member of the reading committee of the Comé ...

writes that Prévost fought with "a gun in his hand and a knife in his pocket and, in his backpack, the unfinished manuscript of his ''

Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet who also produced notable work as an essayist and art critic. His poems exhibit mastery in the handling of rhyme and rhythm, contain an exoticism inherited fro ...

'' together with a portable typewriter". He was killed in a German ambush at the Pont Charvin, in Sassenage, on 1 August 1944. The lycées (secondary schools) in Villard-de-Lans and

are named in his honor.

Literary works

* ''Plaisirs des sports'', 1925 ; * ''Dix-huitième année'', 1928 ; * ''Les frères Bouquinquant'', 1930 ; * ''Vie de Montaigne, essai'', 1931 * ''Histoire de la France depuis la guerre'', 1932 ; * ''Le sel sur la plaie, roman'', 1934 ; * ''La chasse du matin, roman'', 1937 ; * ''Lucie-Paulette'', 1935 ; * ''La Terre est aux hommes'', 1936 ; * ''Usonie, esquisse de la civilisation américaine'', 1939 ; * ''Beaudelaire, essai'', 1953.

Notes and sources

;Notes ;Sources * ''This article began as a translation of its French equivalent.'' * * * * *

External links

*
Les Impressions nouvelles - Jean Prévost aux avant-postes

www.jeanprevost.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prevost, Jean 1901 births 1944 deaths 20th-century French non-fiction writers French Resistance members École Normale Supérieure alumni Lycée Henri-IV alumni Lycée Pierre-Corneille alumni Resistance members killed by Nazi Germany 20th-century French male writers