Emile Danoën
Encyclopedia
Emile Danoën was a French journalist and novelist.
Danoën was born Emile Orvoën, to Peter and Leonie Le Doze at Moëlan-sur-Mer
in Finistère
, Brittany
, but he grew up in the seamen's hostel run by his parents in the district of Saint-François in Le Havre
.
During the Second World War, he moved to Marseille
s with his first wife Georgette, with whom he had two sons, Michael and Peter.
He worked at the magazine Les Cahiers du Sud while at the same time appearing in bars and restaurants in the old port working as a street violinist.
At this time he met such writers as Joey Bousquet, François Le Lionnais
, Paul Valéry
, Paul Eluard
, Lanza del Vasto
and André Gide
. He became close to Gabriel Bertin, to whom he dedicated his first novel, Cerfs-volants.
At the end of the
German Occupation of France, Georgette died of tuberculosis, following the privations of war. Danoën moved to Paris where he became literary critic of Louis Aragon
's journal Ce Soir. He wrote columns and stories for various publications such as Action, L’Aurore, Bref, Les Cahiers du peuple, Europe, Existences, La Gazette des lettres, Les Lettres françaises, Mystère Magazine, La Nef and others.
An excellent ballroom dancer, he met his second wife Christiane Motoret at Bal Bousca, one of the most famous Paris ballrooms at the time. She worked at the Pairie générale de la Seine and was an activist of the Confédération générale du travail. With her, he won many dance competitions, leading to their marriage in February 1946. Their relationship inspired his novel L'Heureuse aventure (The Happy Adventure).
He and Christiane divorced in May 1951. He then married Léna Botrel, the daughter of Théodore Botrel
, who gave him a third son, François. That same year he won the Prix du roman populiste for his novel Une maison soufflée aux vents, dedicated to Léna.
In 1952 he returned to living with Christiane Motoret, which he did until her death in May 1972. Together they had one daughter, Laurence Motoret.
While writing and diligently studying at the Bibliothèque nationale de France
, (especially documents concerning the anarchist Jules Durand, to whom he devoted an unpublished novel), he temporarily worked as a college supervisor, a night watchman in a warehouse, a sailing, tennis or ping-pong instructor and many other jobs.
Emile Danoën died in its 80th year Meudon, where he lived with a friend of his youth. He married his fourth wife, Francine Bloch, in 1984.
Some of his works were translated into English, American, Russian and Chinese.
Danoën was born Emile Orvoën, to Peter and Leonie Le Doze at Moëlan-sur-Mer
Moëlan-sur-Mer
Moëlan-sur-Mer is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France.-Population:Inhabitants of Moëlan-sur-Mer are called in French Moëlanais.-References:** -External links:* *...
in Finistère
Finistère
Finistère is a département of France, in the extreme west of Brittany.-History:The name Finistère derives from the Latin Finis Terræ, meaning end of the earth, and may be compared with Land's End on the opposite side of the English Channel...
, Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
, but he grew up in the seamen's hostel run by his parents in the district of Saint-François in Le Havre
Le Havre
Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...
.
During the Second World War, he moved to Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
s with his first wife Georgette, with whom he had two sons, Michael and Peter.
He worked at the magazine Les Cahiers du Sud while at the same time appearing in bars and restaurants in the old port working as a street violinist.
At this time he met such writers as Joey Bousquet, François Le Lionnais
François Le Lionnais
François Le Lionnais was a French chemical engineer and mathematician, perhaps best known as a founder of the literary movement Oulipo....
, Paul Valéry
Paul Valéry
Ambroise-Paul-Toussaint-Jules Valéry was a French poet, essayist, and philosopher. His interests were sufficiently broad that he can be classified as a polymath...
, Paul Eluard
Paul Éluard
Paul Éluard, born Eugène Émile Paul Grindel , was a French poet who was one of the founders of the surrealist movement.-Biography:...
, Lanza del Vasto
Lanza del Vasto
Lanza del Vasto, , was a philosopher, poet, artist, catholic and nonviolent activist.He was born in San Vito dei Normanni, Italy and died in Elche de la Sierra, Spain....
and André Gide
André Gide
André Paul Guillaume Gide was a French author and winner of the Nobel Prize in literature in 1947. Gide's career ranged from its beginnings in the symbolist movement, to the advent of anticolonialism between the two World Wars.Known for his fiction as well as his autobiographical works, Gide...
. He became close to Gabriel Bertin, to whom he dedicated his first novel, Cerfs-volants.
At the end of the
German Occupation of France, Georgette died of tuberculosis, following the privations of war. Danoën moved to Paris where he became literary critic of Louis Aragon
Louis Aragon
Louis Aragon , was a French poet, novelist and editor, a long-time member of the Communist Party and a member of the Académie Goncourt.- Early life :...
's journal Ce Soir. He wrote columns and stories for various publications such as Action, L’Aurore, Bref, Les Cahiers du peuple, Europe, Existences, La Gazette des lettres, Les Lettres françaises, Mystère Magazine, La Nef and others.
An excellent ballroom dancer, he met his second wife Christiane Motoret at Bal Bousca, one of the most famous Paris ballrooms at the time. She worked at the Pairie générale de la Seine and was an activist of the Confédération générale du travail. With her, he won many dance competitions, leading to their marriage in February 1946. Their relationship inspired his novel L'Heureuse aventure (The Happy Adventure).
He and Christiane divorced in May 1951. He then married Léna Botrel, the daughter of Théodore Botrel
Théodore Botrel
Jean-Baptiste-Théodore-Marie Botrel was a French singer-songwriter, poet and playwright. He is best known for his popular songs about his native Brittany, of which the most famous is La Paimpolaise. During World War I he became France's official "Bard of the Armies".-Life:Born in Dinan, Botrel was...
, who gave him a third son, François. That same year he won the Prix du roman populiste for his novel Une maison soufflée aux vents, dedicated to Léna.
In 1952 he returned to living with Christiane Motoret, which he did until her death in May 1972. Together they had one daughter, Laurence Motoret.
While writing and diligently studying at the Bibliothèque nationale de France
Bibliothèque nationale de France
The is the National Library of France, located in Paris. It is intended to be the repository of all that is published in France. The current president of the library is Bruno Racine.-History:...
, (especially documents concerning the anarchist Jules Durand, to whom he devoted an unpublished novel), he temporarily worked as a college supervisor, a night watchman in a warehouse, a sailing, tennis or ping-pong instructor and many other jobs.
Emile Danoën died in its 80th year Meudon, where he lived with a friend of his youth. He married his fourth wife, Francine Bloch, in 1984.
Some of his works were translated into English, American, Russian and Chinese.
Select bibliography
- Cerfs-volants, Marseille, Jean Vigneau, 1942
- Rue des enfants abandonnés, Paris, Jean Vigneau, 1945
- L’Aventure de Noël, Paris, Jean Vigneau, 1946
- Lignes blanches, Paris, Bibliothèque française, 1947
- La Queue à la pègre, Paris, Julliard, 1949
- L’Heureuse aventure, Paris, Julliard, 1950
- Une maison soufflée aux vents, vol. I : Paris, Julliard, 1951, (Prix du roman populiste), translated by Mary Glasgow into English, published in Britain under the title Dust in the Wind, London, Staples Press, and in America as Tides of Time, New York, Ballantine Books, 1952
- Une maison soufflée aux vents, vol. II: Idylle dans un quartier muré, Paris, Julliard, 1952, translated by Mary Glasgow as The Wind Rises, London, Staples Press.
- La Fille du voleur d’huitres, Paris, Julliard, 1952
- L’Homme qui héritait d’un meurtre, Paris, Flammarion, 1956
- Le Conseiller hippique, Paris, Gallimard, 1958