François Bott

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

Biography

After earning his Licence in philosophy, Bott began as a journalist at ''France-Soir''. He then directed the literary pages of ''L'Express'' and founded '' Le Magazine Littéraire'' in 1967. The following year he joined the newspaper ''Le Monde'', 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, from a cycling track to a place of repression and torture during World War II. Bott was awarded the Académie Française'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 Roger Vailland 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 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 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:
*1969: ', éditions Grasset
*1986: ''Lettres à Baudelaire, Chandler et quelques autres'', éditions Albin Michel, 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, 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, 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, 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

Further reading

* François Bott, ''Un aficionado de la vie'', Interviews, Roger Vailland, éditions Subervie, 1970

External links

François Bott
(in French) gallimard.fr

François Bott
(in French) franceculture.fr

François Bott
(in French) BNF
* Josyane Savigneau

(in French) Le Monde des livres 6 October 2005
* James M. Markham

''The New York Times'' 25 November 1987

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bott, Francois
1935 births
2022 deaths
20th-century French male writers
21st-century French journalists
21st-century French novelists
20th-century French essayists
21st-century French essayists
Local historians of France
French essayists
21st-century French male writers
French male non-fiction writers
People from Laon