Jacques Chessex
Encyclopedia
Jacques Chessex was a Swiss
author
and painter
.
. From 1951 to 1953, he studied in St-Michel College in Fribourg
, before undertaking literature studies in Lausanne
. In 1953, he co-founded the literary review Pays du Lac in Pully. In 1956, Chessex's father committed suicide
, making a lasting impression on him. He completed his studies in 1960.
In 1963, Chessex was awarded the Schiller Prize for La Tête ouverte. The next year, he co-founded the literary review Écriture in Lausanne. From 1969, he held a position as a French literature professor in the Gymnase de la Cité in Lausanne.
In 1972, he was awarded the Alpes-Jura pirze. The next year, he obtained the Prix Goncourt
for the novel L'Ogre. In 1992, he obtained the Mallarmé Prize for poetry for Les Aveugles du seul regard, as well as the Grand Prize of the Fondation Vaudoise pour la création artistique. In 1999, he was awarded the Grand Prix de la langue française, and the Goncourt poetry grant for Allegria.
In 2007, he was awarded the Grand Prix Jean Giono for his entire work.
One of Chessex's last books A Jew Must Die (), published 2008, focussed on the 1942 death of cattle trader Arthur Bloch, who was killed by Swiss Nazis in Chessex's home town of Payerne. The novel, like others in his back catalogue, was not warmly received in Switzerland. A play adapted from his 1967 novel The Confession of Father Burg had just had its premiere the night before his death.
Chessex suffered a heart attack
and collapsed during a public discussion in Yverdon-les-Bains
on 9 October 2009 about a play The Confession of Father Burg, book A Jew Must Die and about his support for Roman Polanski
(who was arrested in September 2009 by Swiss police because of his outstanding U.S. warrant when he entered the country to accept a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Zurich Film Festival
). He died shortly thereafter.
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
.
Biography
Chessex was born in 1934 in PayernePayerne
Payerne is a municipality in the Swiss canton of Vaud. It was the seat of the district of Payerne, and is now part of the district of Broye-Vully....
. From 1951 to 1953, he studied in St-Michel College in Fribourg
Fribourg
Fribourg is the capital of the Swiss canton of Fribourg and the district of Sarine. It is located on both sides of the river Saane/Sarine, on the Swiss plateau, and is an important economic, administrative and educational center on the cultural border between German and French Switzerland...
, before undertaking literature studies in Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
. In 1953, he co-founded the literary review Pays du Lac in Pully. In 1956, Chessex's father committed suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
, making a lasting impression on him. He completed his studies in 1960.
In 1963, Chessex was awarded the Schiller Prize for La Tête ouverte. The next year, he co-founded the literary review Écriture in Lausanne. From 1969, he held a position as a French literature professor in the Gymnase de la Cité in Lausanne.
In 1972, he was awarded the Alpes-Jura pirze. The next year, he obtained the Prix Goncourt
Prix Goncourt
The Prix Goncourt is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year"...
for the novel L'Ogre. In 1992, he obtained the Mallarmé Prize for poetry for Les Aveugles du seul regard, as well as the Grand Prize of the Fondation Vaudoise pour la création artistique. In 1999, he was awarded the Grand Prix de la langue française, and the Goncourt poetry grant for Allegria.
In 2007, he was awarded the Grand Prix Jean Giono for his entire work.
One of Chessex's last books A Jew Must Die (), published 2008, focussed on the 1942 death of cattle trader Arthur Bloch, who was killed by Swiss Nazis in Chessex's home town of Payerne. The novel, like others in his back catalogue, was not warmly received in Switzerland. A play adapted from his 1967 novel The Confession of Father Burg had just had its premiere the night before his death.
Chessex suffered a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
and collapsed during a public discussion in Yverdon-les-Bains
Yverdon-les-Bains
Yverdon-les-Bains is a municipality in the district of Jura-Nord vaudois of the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is the seat of the district...
on 9 October 2009 about a play The Confession of Father Burg, book A Jew Must Die and about his support for Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski is a French-Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few "truly international filmmakers."...
(who was arrested in September 2009 by Swiss police because of his outstanding U.S. warrant when he entered the country to accept a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Zurich Film Festival
Zurich Film Festival
The Zurich Film Festival ' is an important international film festival, held annually in Zurich, Switzerland. A stated objective of the festival is to discover and support young, aspiring filmmakers and to offer the industry, audiences, the press and a broader public an exciting cinema experience...
). He died shortly thereafter.
Poetry
- Le Jour proche, Aux Miroirs partagés, Lausanne, 1954.
- Chant de printemps, Jeune Poésie, Genève, 1955.
- Une Voix la nuit, Mermod, Lausanne, 1957.
- Batailles dans l'air (1957–1959), Mermod, 1959.
- Le Jeûne de huit nuits, Payot, Lausanne, 1966.
- L'Ouvert obscur, L'Age d'Homme, Lausanne, 1967.
- Elégie soleil du regret, Bertil Galland, Vevey, 1976.
- Le Calviniste, Grasset, Paris, 1983.
- Pierre Estoppey, Le Verseau, Lausanne, 1986.
- Myriam, PAP, Pully, 1987.
- Comme l'os, Grasset, 1988.
- Dans la Page brumeuse du sonnet, PAP, 1989.
- Elégie de Pâques, PAP, 1989.
- Neige, Stamperia del Portico, Gavirate, 1989.
- Si l'Arc des coqs, PAP, 1989.
- Plaie ravie, PAP, 1989.
- Les Aveugles du seul regard, PAP, 1991. Autre édition: La Différence, Paris, 1992.
- Le Buisson, Atelier de St-Prex, 1991.
- Songe du Corps élémentaire, Simecek et Ditesheim, Lausanne et Neuchâtel, 1992.
- La Fente, Atelier de St-Prex, 1993.
- Le Rire dans la faille, Le Manoir, Martigny, 1993.
- Les Elégies de Yorick, Bernard Campiche, Yvonand, 1994.
- Le Temps sans Temps", Le Cherche-Midi, Paris, 1995.
- Cantique, poésie, Bernard Campiche, 1996.
- Poésie, 3 vol. (L'œuvre), Bernard Campiche, 1997.
- Le désir de la neige, Grasset, 2002.
- Allegria, Grasset, 2005.
- Revanche des purs, Grasset, 2008.
Novels
- La Tête ouverte, Gallimard, Paris, 1962.
- La Confession du pasteur Burg, Christian Bourgois, Paris, 1967.
- Carabas, Grasset, Paris, 1971.
- L'Ogre, Grasset, 1973. Prix GoncourtPrix GoncourtThe Prix Goncourt is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year"...
- L'Ardent royaume, Grasset, 1975.
- Les Yeux jaunes, Grasset, 1979.
- Judas le transparent, Grasset, 1982.
- Jonas, Grasset, 1987.
- Morgane madrigal, Grasset, 1990.
- La Trinité, Grasset, 1992.
- Le rêve de Voltaire, Grasset, 1995.
- La mort d'un juste Grasset, 1996.
- L'imitation, Grasset, 1998.
- Portrait d'une ombre, Zoé, Genève, 1999
- Incarnata, Grasset, 1999
- Monsieur, Grasset, 2001
- L'Eternel sentit une odeur agréable, Grasset, 2004
- Avant le Matin, Grasset 2006
- Le Vampire de Ropraz, Grasset, 2007
- Pardon mère, Grasset, 2008
- , Grasset, 2009
- Le Dernier crâne de M. de Sade, Grasset, 2010
Short stories
- Le Séjour des morts, Grasset, 1977.
- Où vont mourir les oiseaux, Grasset, 1980.
- Sosie d'un saint, Grasset, 2000.
Epics
- Reste avec nous, Cahier de La Renaissance Vaudoise, 1967. reprinted : Bernard Campiche, 1995.
- Portrait des Vaudois, 1969. Collection Babel N°20
- Feux d'orées, 1984 ; reprinted. Bernard Campiche, 1995.
- Dans la buée de ses yeux, Bernard Campiche, 1995.
- L'imparfait, Bernard Campiche, 1996.
- De l'encre et du papier, La Bibliothèque des arts, 2001 (Pergamine)
Children books
- Le Renard qui disait non à la lune, Grasset, 1974.
- Marie et le chat sauvage, Grasset, 1979.
- Neuf, l'œuf, Grasset, 1990.
- François dans la forêt, Grasset, 1991.
Editorials
- Charles-Albert Cingria, Seghers, Paris, 1967. reprinted : Poche Suisse, 2007.
- Les saintes Écritures, Bertil Galland, 1972.
- Bréviaire, Bertil Galland, 1976.
- Adieu à Gustave Roud, with Maurice ChappazMaurice ChappazMaurice Chappaz was a French-language Swiss poet and writer. He published more than 40 books and won several literary awards, including his country's most notable award, the Grand Prix Schiller, in 1997....
and Philippe JaccottetPhilippe JaccottetPhilippe Jaccottet is a poet and translator who publishes in French.After completing his studies in Lausanne, he lived several years in Paris. In 1953, came to live in the town of Grignan in Provence...
, Bertil Galland, 1977. - Entretiens avec Jacques Chessex, Jérôme Garcin, La Différence, 1979.
- Maupassant et les autres, Ramsay, Paris, 1981.
- Flaubert, ou Le Désert en abîme, Grasset, 1991.
- Avez-vous déjà giflé un rat?, Bernard Campiche, 1997.
- Le désir de dieu, Grasset, 2005.
- Le simple préserve l'énigme, Gallimard, 2008.
Editorials on painting
- La Muerte y la Nada (Antonio Saura), Pierre Canova, Pully, 1990.
- Zao Wou-Ki, Galerie Jan Krugier, Genève, 1990.
- Marcel Poncet, La Bibliothèque des Arts, Lausanne, 1992.
- Olivier Charles", Musée Jenisch, Vevey, 1992.
- Bazaine, Skira, Paris, 1996.
- Figures de la métamorphose, La Bibliothèque des Arts, 1999.
- Le dernier des monstres (Saura), Cuadernos del Hocinoco, Cuenca, 2000.
- Notes sur Saura, Cuadernos del Hocinoco, 2001.
- Les dangers de Jean Lecoultre,Cuadernos del Hocinoco, 2002.
- Javier Pagola, Cuadernos del Hocinoco, 2004.
- Thomas Fougeirol, Operae, 2004.
- Dans la peinture de Sarto, Atelier de St-Prex et Chabloz, Lausanne, 2008.
- Une nuit dans la forêt illustrations by Manuel Müller, Notari, Genève, 2009.
- Jean Lecoultre ou la haine de la peinture, in Artpassions, n°19, 2009.