Pascal Pia
Encyclopedia
Pascal Pia, born Pierre Durand (15 August 1903, Paris
– 27 September 1979, Paris), was a French
writer, journalist, illustrator and scholar. He also used the pseudonyms Pascal Rose, Pascal Fely and others.
In 1922 he published the erotic work Les Princesses de Cythère. His La Muse en rut, a collection of erotic poems, appeared in 1928. He also illustrated erotic works, such as the Songs of Bilitis
. In 1938 he founded the leftist journal Alger républicain
in Algiers
(which was part of the French colony of Algeria
at the time). The journal was forbidden in 1939. During World War II
Pia participated in the French Resistance
(in the group "Combat") and in 1944 he became chief editor of the clandestine resistance journal Combat, using the pseudonym Pontault. He said "We will try to make a reasonable newspaper. And as the world is absurd, it will fail."
Albert Camus
worked as a journalist at the Alger républicain and later also at Combat. Pia and Camus became friends, and Camus dedicated his 1942 essay The Myth of Sisyphus
to Pia. A collection of their correspondence was published in 2000. Pascal Pia was also a good friend of André Malraux
.
Pia was a member ("Satrape") of the Collège de 'pataphysique
. He often expressed absurdist
and nihilistic
sentiments. At the end of his life, he claimed the "right to nothingness", prohibiting others from writing about him after his death.
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
– 27 September 1979, Paris), was a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
writer, journalist, illustrator and scholar. He also used the pseudonyms Pascal Rose, Pascal Fely and others.
In 1922 he published the erotic work Les Princesses de Cythère. His La Muse en rut, a collection of erotic poems, appeared in 1928. He also illustrated erotic works, such as the Songs of Bilitis
Songs of Bilitis
The Songs of Bilitis is a collection of erotic poetry by Pierre Louÿs and published in Paris in 1894 .The book's sensual poems are in the manner of Sappho; the introduction claims they were found on the walls of a tomb in Cyprus, written by a woman of Ancient Greece called Bilitis, a courtesan and...
. In 1938 he founded the leftist journal Alger républicain
Alger républicain
Alger républicain is an Algerian newspaper founded in 1938, and intermittently published ever since. It is close to the Algerian communist movement, without having been an official party publication. The paper was edited by the French-Algerian communist and anti-colonial activist Henri Alleg from...
in Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
(which was part of the French colony of Algeria
French rule in Algeria
French Algeria lasted from 1830 to 1962, under a variety of governmental systems. From 1848 until independence, the whole Mediterranean region of Algeria was administered as an integral part of France, much like Corsica and Réunion are to this day. The vast arid interior of Algeria, like the rest...
at the time). The journal was forbidden in 1939. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Pia participated in the French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
(in the group "Combat") and in 1944 he became chief editor of the clandestine resistance journal Combat, using the pseudonym Pontault. He said "We will try to make a reasonable newspaper. And as the world is absurd, it will fail."
Albert Camus
Albert Camus
Albert Camus was a French author, journalist, and key philosopher of the 20th century. In 1949, Camus founded the Group for International Liaisons within the Revolutionary Union Movement, which was opposed to some tendencies of the Surrealist movement of André Breton.Camus was awarded the 1957...
worked as a journalist at the Alger républicain and later also at Combat. Pia and Camus became friends, and Camus dedicated his 1942 essay The Myth of Sisyphus
The Myth of Sisyphus
The Myth of Sisyphus is a philosophical essay by Albert Camus. It comprises about 120 pages and was published originally in 1942 in French as Le Mythe de Sisyphe; the English translation by Justin O'Brien followed in 1955....
to Pia. A collection of their correspondence was published in 2000. Pascal Pia was also a good friend of André Malraux
André Malraux
André Malraux DSO was a French adventurer, award-winning author, and statesman. Having traveled extensively in Indochina and China, Malraux was noted especially for his novel entitled La Condition Humaine , which won the Prix Goncourt...
.
Pia was a member ("Satrape") of the Collège de 'pataphysique
’Pataphysics
Pataphysics is a philosophy or pseudophilosophy dedicated to studying what lies beyond the realm of metaphysics. The term was coined and the concept created by French writer Alfred Jarry , who defined 'pataphysics as "the science of imaginary solutions, which symbolically attributes the properties...
. He often expressed absurdist
Absurdism
In philosophy, "The Absurd" refers to the conflict between the human tendency to seek value and meaning in life and the human inability to find any...
and nihilistic
Nihilism
Nihilism is the philosophical doctrine suggesting the negation of one or more putatively meaningful aspects of life. Most commonly, nihilism is presented in the form of existential nihilism which argues that life is without objective meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value...
sentiments. At the end of his life, he claimed the "right to nothingness", prohibiting others from writing about him after his death.
Selected books written or edited by Pascal Pia
- La Muse en rut et autres poèmes (1928)
- Baudelaire par lui-même (1952)
- Apollinaire par lui-même (1954)
- Les livres de l'Enfer: bibliographie critique des ouvrages érotiques dans leurs différentes éditions du XVIe siècle à nos jours (1978) [The Books of the "Enfer:" Critical Bibliography of Erotic Works in their Different Editions from the Sixteenth Century to the Present].
- Correspondance avec Albert Camus (2000)
Books and articles about Pascal Pia
- Pascal Pia by Jean José Marchand, Paris 1981
- Pascal Pia, ou, Le droit au néant by Roger Grenier, Paris 1989
- Pascal Pia, ou, L'homme libre (1903–1979), by Michaël Guittard, dissertation Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, 1999
- Bibliophilie: Pascal Pia, le clandestin by J -B Baronian, MAGAZINE LITTERAIRE, no. 375, (1999)
External links
- Catalogue of books edited or written by Pascal Pia
- Pascal Pia, by Michaël Guittard.