François Cavanna
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François Cavanna (22 February 1923 – 29 January 2014) was a French author and satirical newspaper editor. He contributed to the creation and success of ''
Hara-Kiri , sometimes referred to as hara-kiri (, , a native Japanese kun reading), is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. It was originally reserved for samurai in their code of honour but was also practised by other Japanese people d ...
'' and ''
Charlie Hebdo ''Charlie Hebdo'' (; meaning ''Charlie Weekly'') is a French satirical weekly magazine, featuring cartoons, reports, polemics, and jokes. Stridently non-conformist in tone, the publication has been described as Anti-racism, anti-racist, sceptica ...
''. He wrote in a variety of genres including reportage, satire, essays, novels, autobiography and humor. He also translated six books about famous cartoonists. Cavanna was born in
Nogent-sur-Marne Nogent-sur-Marne () is a Communes of France, commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. Nogent-sur-Marne is a ''Subprefectures in France, sous-préfecture'' of the Val-de-Marne ''Depar ...
. Although raised in France, he grew up surrounded by Italian immigrants due to his father being from
Bettola Bettola ( egl, label= Piacentino, La Bëtla or ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Piacenza in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about west of Bologna and about south of Piacenza. People France's last recognised Wor ...
, Italy. He treated this life in his books ''Les Ritals'' and ''L'œil du lapin''. At the age of 16, he took up various part-time jobs. He delivered letters for the postal service, sold fruits and vegetables, and was a mason's apprentice. His journalistic début came in 1945 when he began to work for the daily ''Libération''. In November 1969, ''Hara-Kiri's sister weekly magazine was banned. Cavanna came up with the idea of renaming the magazine for the next week's issue, and thus, ''Charlie Hebdo'' was born. Later, he turned to autobiographical writing. ''Les Ritals'', dealt with his childhood, while ''Les Russkoffs'' (and later ''Maria'') treated his experience in
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 ...
. ''Les Russkoffs'' was the novel for which he won the Prix Interallié in 1979. In ''Bête et méchant'' and ''Les yeux plus grands que le ventre'' he tells his hilarious experiences in ''Hara-Kiri'' and ''Charlie Hebdo''. The final book of his published while he was still living, ''Lune de miel'', deals with Cavanna's Parkinson disease.


Publications (in chronological order)

*''4, rue Choron'' (1965) *''Cavanna'' (1968) *''Je l’ai pas lu, je l’ai pas vu, mais j’en ai entendu causer'' (1970) *''Les aventures de Dieu'' (1971) *''Le saviez-vous? 1'' (1971) *''L'Aurore de l'humanité I : Et le singe devient con'' (1972) *''Le saviez-vous? 2'' (1974) *''L'Aurore de l'humanité II : Le con se surpasse'' (1975) *''Je l’ai pas lu, je l’ai pas vu, mais j’en ai entendu causer: chroniques de Hara Kiri hebdo, 1969 I'' (1975) *''Je l’ai pas lu, je l’ai pas vu, mais j’en ai entendu causer: chroniques de Hara Kiri hebdo, 1969 II'' (1975) *''Je l’ai pas lu, je l’ai pas vu, mais j’en ai entendu causer: chroniques de Hara Kiri hebdo, 1970'' (1976) *''Stop-crève'' (1976) *''L'Aurore de l'humanité III : Où s'arrêtera-t-il?'' (1977) *''Gauche, droite, piège à cons: chroniques de Hara Kiri hebdo de 1969 à 1976'' (1978) *''Les Ritals'' (1978) *''Les Russkoffs'' (1979) *''La Grande Encyclopédie Bête et Méchante'' (1980) *''Louise la Pétroleuse'' (1981) *''Bête et méchant'' (1981) *''La Nouvelle Encyclopédie Bête et Méchante'' (1982) *''Les Écritures – Les Aventures de Dieu et du petit Jésus'' (1982;2002) *''Les yeux plus grands que le ventre'' (1983) *''L'Almanach de Cavanna'' (1984) *''Maria'' (1985) *''Les fosses carolines'' (1986) *''L’Oeil du Lapin'' (1987) *''Les doigts plein d'encre'' (Photos de Robert Doisneau) (1987) *''La couronne d’Irène'' (1988) *''Les Aventures de Napoléon'' (1988) *''Mignonne, allons voir si la rose...'' (1989) *''Maman, au secours!'' (Dessins de Altan)(1990) *''La belle fille sur le tas d’ordures'' (1991) *''Coups de sang'' (1991) *''Les grands imposteurs'' (1991) *''Nos ancêtres les Gaulois, ou, l’histoire de France redécouverte par Cavanna'' (1991) *''Cavanna par Cavanna'' (1992) *''Le temps des égorgeurs'' (1992) *''Dieu, Mozart, Le Pen et les autres: les nouveaux imposteurs'' (1992) *''De Coluche à Mitterrand: l’intégrale de Cavanna dans Charlie Hebdo, année 1981'' (1993) *''Tonton, Messaline, Judas et les autres'' (1993;1999) *''Les enfants de Germinal'' (1993) *''Lettre ouverte aux culs-bénits'' (1994) *''Les pensées'' (1994) *''Coeur d'artichaut'' (1995) *''La déesse mère: roman'' (1997) *''Je t'aime'' (Dessins de Barbe) (1998) *''Les Mérovingiens 1: Le Hun blond'' (1998). Historical romance about events in Gaul and Frankish Europe in the decades after
Attila the Hun Attila (, ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in March 453. He was also the leader of a tribal empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Bulgars, among others, in Central and Ea ...
*''Les Mérovingiens 2: La hache et la croix'' (1999) *''Les Mérovingiens 3: Le dieu de Clotilde'' (2000) *''Les Mérovingiens 4: Le sang de Clovis'' (2001) *''Les Mérovingiens 5: Les reines rouges'' (2002) *''Au fond du jardin'' (Photos de Patricia Méaille) (2002) *''Les imposteurs'' (2003) *''Sur les murs de la classe'' (2003) *''Les Mérovingiens 6: L'adieu aux reines'' (2004) *''Les années Charlie: 1969-2004'' (2004) *''Cavanna à Charlie Hebdo:1969-1981: Je l'ai pas lu, je l'ai pas vu...'' (2005) *''Plus je regarde les hommes, plus j'aime les femmes...'' (2005) *''Le voyage'' (2006). A historical novel about the voyages of
Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...
told from the point of view of an Irish shipmate. *''Hara Kiri Les belles images'' (2008) *''Cavanna raconte Cavanna'' (2008) *''La pub nous prend pour des cons, la pub nous rend cons'' (2009) *''Instants de grâce'' (Photos de Leloir) (2010) *''Le pire de Hara Kiri'' (2010) *''Lune de miel'' (2010) *''CRÈVE, DUCON !'' (2020)


Translations by Cavanna

* 1971 : ''Li'l Abner'', Éditions du Square * 1979 : ''Crasse-Tignasse'', éd. L'École des Loisirs * 1980 : ''Max et Moritz de Wilhelm Busch'', éd. L'École des Loisirs * 1988 : ''L'Univers impitoyable de Gary Larson'', éd. Presses de la Cité * 1989 : ''L'Univers impitoyable de Gary Larson contre-attaque'', éd. Presses de la Cité * 2007 : ''Je ne suis pas n'importe qui ! Jules Feiffer'', éd. Futuropolis


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cavanna, Francois Writers from Paris 1923 births 2014 deaths 20th-century French writers 20th-century French male writers 21st-century French writers 20th-century French journalists French autobiographers French people of Italian descent People of Emilian descent Prix Interallié winners Charlie Hebdo people French columnists French satirists French male non-fiction writers