Yves Berger (14 January 1931 – 16 November 2004) was a French writer and editor.
From 1960 to 2000, he was the literary director of
Éditions Grasset
The Grasset Editions () is a French publishing house founded in 1907 by (1881–1955).
History Founder
In 1913, Bernard Grasset publishes the first volume of ''À la recherche du temps perdu'', by Marcel Proust, '' Du côté de chez Swann'', ...
, and published several novels in which he expressed his attachment to the United States.
Biography
The son of a road transporter, Yves Berger affirmed that this detail has its importance because several of his works were filled with his love of the voyages. After high school at the in Avignon, Yves Berger studied at Montpellier and in Paris. His childhood, rocked by
Jack London
John Griffith Chaney (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to ...
and
Fenimore Cooper
James Fenimore Cooper (September 15, 1789 – September 14, 1851) was an American writer of the first half of the 19th century, whose historical romances depicting colonist and Indigenous characters from the 17th to the 19th centuries brought ...
, inspired him with this passion for the
New World
The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...
that never left him.
A teacher of English, he joined Grasset in 1960, becoming one of its pillars. He earned the nickname of "manitou of literary prizes" and the reputation of making or undoing the French literary prizes. He wrote his first novel, "The South," in 1962 on the State of
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
before the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
. Yves Berger also contributes to make French authors known such as
Marie-Claire Blais
Marie-Claire Blais (5 October 1939 – 30 November 2021) was a Canadian writer, novelist, poet, and playwright from the province of Québec. In a career spanning seventy years, she wrote novels, plays, collections of poetry and fiction, newspa ...
and
Antonine Maillet
Antonine Maillet, (; born May 10, 1929) is an Acadian novelist, playwright, and scholar. She was born in Bouctouche, New Brunswick, Canada."Antonine Maillet." ''Paroles d'Acadie : Anthologie de la littérature acadienne (1958-2009)'', edited by ...
and prefaced the works of Native Americans authors such as
Dee Brown,
Vine Deloria
Vine Victor Deloria Jr. (March 26, 1933 – November 13, 2005, Standing Rock Sioux) was an author, theologian, historian, and activist for Native American rights. He was widely known for his book '' Custer Died for Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto ...
and
N. Scott Momaday
Navarre Scott Momaday (born February 27, 1934) is a Kiowa novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. His novel ''House Made of Dawn'' was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1969, and is considered the first major work of the Native ...
whom he considered to be the greatest Amerindian writer of today.
In 1975, as
Pierre Sabbagh
Pierre Sabbagh (18 July 1918 – 30 September 1994) was a major personality in French television, as a journalist, producer and director.
Pierre Alain Sabbagh was born in Lannion (Côtes-d'Armor) and died in Paris. He was the younger son of ...
's cultural adviser on the 2nd channel of french television, he convinces
Jacqueline Baudrier
Jacqueline Hélène Baudrier (born Jacqueline Vibert'','' 16 March 1922 – 2 April 2009) was a French radio and television journalist, UNESCO ambassador and in 1975 became President-General Director of Radio France.
Early life
Baudrier was bor ...
in charge of the 1st channel to replace Marc Gilbert's ''Italics'' with
Bernard Pivot
Bernard Pivot (; born 5 May 1935) is a French journalist, interviewer and host of cultural television programmes. He was chairman of the Académie Goncourt from 2014 to 2020.
Biography
Pivot was born in Lyon, the son of two grocers. During Worl ...
's ''Ouvrez les guillemets'' talk show.
In 1996 he was appointed president of the "observatoire national de la langue française", an organism now deceased, then on 17 October 2003, vice-president of the
Conseil supérieur de la langue française. He complained of the ravages of
American English
American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the United States, most widely spoken lan ...
on the French language. In April 2004, he was elected by the
to occupy the seat of
Robert Mallet
Robert Mallet (3 June 1810 – 5 November 1881) was an Irish geophysicist, civil engineer, and inventor who distinguished himself in research on earthquakes and is sometimes called the father of seismology. His son, Frederick Richard Mallet was ...
, died 4 December 2002. He married in 1979, Marie-Claire Foulon.
Works
Novels
*1962: ''Le Sud'',
Prix Femina
The Prix Femina is a French literary prize created in 1904 by 22 writers for the magazine '' La Vie heureuse'' (today known as '' Femina''). The prize is decided each year by an exclusively female jury. They reward French-language works written ...
*1976: ''Le Fou d'Amérique''
*1987: ''Les Matins du Nouveau Monde''
*1990: ''La Pierre et la Saguaro'',
Prix de la langue française The Prix de la langue française is chronologically the first grand prix of the literary season in France.
Established in 1986 by the city of Brive-la-Gaillarde in the department of Corrèze, this prize rewards the work of a personality of the lit ...
*1992: ''L'Attrapeur d'ombres'',
Prix Colette
*1994: ',
Prix Médicis
The Prix Médicis is a French literary award given each year in November. It was founded in 1958 by and . It is awarded to an author whose "fame does not yet match his talent."
The award goes to a work of fiction in the French language. In 19 ...
*1997: ''Le Monde après la pluie''
*2000: ''Santa Fé''. The theme is that of lost youth. It is the story of the double passion of a man, Roque, in his sixties. The one he carries to Lea, who is 18 years old, and the one he devotes to the New World.
Essays
*1958: ''Boris Pasternak''
* ''Que peut la littérature ?'', (collective)
* ''Dictionnaire amoureux de l'Amérique'', Plon, series "" (
Prix Renaudot
The Prix Théophraste-Renaudot or Prix Renaudot () is a French literary award.
History
The prize was created in 1926 by ten art critics awaiting the results of deliberation of the jury of the Prix Goncourt. While not officially related to the ...
de l'essai in 2003)
External links
Yves Bergeron Babelio
on L'Obs (18 November 2004)
on Académie Royale de langue française
on ''
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 ...
'' (1 March 1998)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berger, Yves
1931 births
Writers from Avignon
20th-century French non-fiction writers
20th-century French male writers
Prix Médicis winners
Prix Femina winners
2004 deaths
Members of the Académie royale de langue et de littérature françaises de Belgique
Prix Renaudot de l'essai winners