Bernard Frank (journalist)
Encyclopedia
Bernard Frank was a Jewish French journalist and writer.
Bernard Frank was raised in a comfortable family, where his father was a bank manager. After his baccalauréat
, he started a Khâgne
at the Lycée Pasteur
but was expelled for bad conduct. He tried again to complete his preparatory classes at the lycée Condorcet
, but abandoned them out of boredom during the second trimester.
At the age of 20, he met Jean-Paul Sartre
who entrusted him on a trial basis with a column in his magazine, Les Temps Modernes
. He remained a periodic contributor, but after publication of his novel Les Rats (1953), he fell out with the magazine's management.
During 1952-1953, he was in charge of the literary column in l'Observateur
, as a substitute for Maurice Nadeau
. He started his work on the weekly with a double page which he dedicated to Drieu la Rochelle. He then coined the label Hussards
, in a December 1952 article published in Les Temps modernes
, to designate writers such as Roger Nimier
and Antoine Blondin
.
He also contributed to le Monde
, the Cahier des saisons, the Nouveau Candide, and l'Actualité
. "Every autumnn he disparaged the nominees for literary prizes, judging that too many bad novels are published, and mocked colleagues who found genius in the slightest nuance of the season; and just to push it, would double his ridicule just to wind them up."
At the end of 1961, he met the journalist Jean Daniel
while hospitalised in a Neuilly clinic, where their mutual friend, the editor Claude Perdriel, thought "perhaps maliciously " to introduce them to one another. He contributed to the Nouvel Observateur in the latter half of the 1960s.
He won the Prix des Deux Magots
in 1971 for "un Siècle débordé", and the prix Roger Nimier in 1981 for "Solde". That year he began a literary column in the daily Le Matin de Paris
before rejoining Le Monde
in 1985 and then Le Nouvel Observateur
in 1989.
Frank died of a heart attack 3 November 2006, while dining in a restaurant in the 8th Arrondissement of Paris. His wife said that he was discussing politics at the moment of his death.
Bernard Frank was raised in a comfortable family, where his father was a bank manager. After his baccalauréat
Baccalauréat
The baccalauréat , often known in France colloquially as le bac, is an academic qualification which French and international students take at the end of the lycée . It was introduced by Napoleon I in 1808. It is the main diploma required to pursue university studies...
, he started a Khâgne
Khâgne
The literary and humanities CPGE constitutes a type classe prépa, the two-year cycle of classes taken after the baccalauréat...
at the Lycée Pasteur
Lycée Pasteur
The Lycée Pasteur is a French state-run secondary school in Neuilly-sur-Seine, on the outskirts of Paris. It accept students from collège through to classes préparatoires .Built in the grounds of the former chateau de Neuilly, the lycée is named in...
but was expelled for bad conduct. He tried again to complete his preparatory classes at the lycée Condorcet
Lycée Condorcet
The Lycée Condorcet is a school founded in 1803 in Paris, France, located at 8, rue du Havre, in the city's IXe arrondissement. Since its inception, various political eras have seen it given a number of different names, but its identity today honors the memory of the Marquis de Condorcet. The...
, but abandoned them out of boredom during the second trimester.
At the age of 20, he met Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre was a French existentialist philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic. He was one of the leading figures in 20th century French philosophy, particularly Marxism, and was one of the key figures in literary...
who entrusted him on a trial basis with a column in his magazine, Les Temps Modernes
Les Temps modernes
The first issue of Les Temps modernes , the most important cultural review of the period after World War II, appeared in October 1945. It was known as the review of Jean-Paul Sartre. It was named for a film by Charlie Chaplin...
. He remained a periodic contributor, but after publication of his novel Les Rats (1953), he fell out with the magazine's management.
During 1952-1953, he was in charge of the literary column in l'Observateur
Le Nouvel Observateur
Le Nouvel Observateur is a weekly French newsmagazine. Based in Paris, it is the most prominent French general information magazine in terms of audience and circulation ....
, as a substitute for Maurice Nadeau
Maurice Nadeau
Maurice Nadeau is a French writer and editor. He was born in Paris. One of his well-known works, translated into several languages, is the Histoire du surréalisme , published in French in 1944 and in English 21 years later, translated by Richard Howard. Nadeau turned 100 in May 2011.- External...
. He started his work on the weekly with a double page which he dedicated to Drieu la Rochelle. He then coined the label Hussards
Hussards (literary movement)
The Hussards was a French literary movement in the 1950s which opposed Existentialism and the figure of the politically engaged intellectual as personified by Jean-Paul Sartre.-Origins:...
, in a December 1952 article published in Les Temps modernes
Les Temps modernes
The first issue of Les Temps modernes , the most important cultural review of the period after World War II, appeared in October 1945. It was known as the review of Jean-Paul Sartre. It was named for a film by Charlie Chaplin...
, to designate writers such as Roger Nimier
Roger Nimier
-Life:He was born in 1925, and served in the French Army, specifically in the 2nd Hussard Regiment in the Second World War .He began to write quite early in his life...
and Antoine Blondin
Antoine Blondin
Antoine Blondin was a French writer.He belonged to the literary group called the Hussards. He was also a sports columnist in L'Équipe. Blondin also wrote under the name Tenorio.-Biography:...
.
He also contributed to le Monde
Le Monde
Le Monde is a French daily evening newspaper owned by La Vie-Le Monde Group and edited in Paris. It is one of two French newspapers of record, and has generally been well respected since its first edition under founder Hubert Beuve-Méry on 19 December 1944...
, the Cahier des saisons, the Nouveau Candide, and l'Actualité
L'actualité
L'actualité is a Canadian French-language news and general interest magazine published in Montreal by Les Éditions Rogers, which is owned by Rogers Communications. The magazine has over a million readers, according to Canada's Print Measurement Bureau, from its circulation which is mainly...
. "Every autumnn he disparaged the nominees for literary prizes, judging that too many bad novels are published, and mocked colleagues who found genius in the slightest nuance of the season; and just to push it, would double his ridicule just to wind them up."
At the end of 1961, he met the journalist Jean Daniel
Jean Daniel
Jean Daniel, is an Algerian-born French-Jewish journalist and author. He is the founder and executive editor of Le Nouvel Observateur weekly.Daniel is a Jewish humanist in the venerable tradition of the French Left...
while hospitalised in a Neuilly clinic, where their mutual friend, the editor Claude Perdriel, thought "perhaps maliciously " to introduce them to one another. He contributed to the Nouvel Observateur in the latter half of the 1960s.
He won the Prix des Deux Magots
Prix des Deux Magots
The Prix des Deux Magots is a major French literary prize. It is presented to new works, and is generally awarded to works that are more off-beat and less conventional than those that receive the more mainstream Prix Goncourt....
in 1971 for "un Siècle débordé", and the prix Roger Nimier in 1981 for "Solde". That year he began a literary column in the daily Le Matin de Paris
Le Matin de Paris
Le Matin de Paris was a French daily newspaper, founded on 1 March 1977 by Claude Perdriel, and disappearing in 1987...
before rejoining Le Monde
Le Monde
Le Monde is a French daily evening newspaper owned by La Vie-Le Monde Group and edited in Paris. It is one of two French newspapers of record, and has generally been well respected since its first edition under founder Hubert Beuve-Méry on 19 December 1944...
in 1985 and then Le Nouvel Observateur
Le Nouvel Observateur
Le Nouvel Observateur is a weekly French newsmagazine. Based in Paris, it is the most prominent French general information magazine in terms of audience and circulation ....
in 1989.
Frank died of a heart attack 3 November 2006, while dining in a restaurant in the 8th Arrondissement of Paris. His wife said that he was discussing politics at the moment of his death.
Works
- 1952 : Grognards et hussards
- 1953 : Géographie universelle
- 1953 : Les Rats
- 1955 : Israël
- 1955 : L'Illusion comique
- 1956 : Le Dernier des Mohicans
- 1958 : La Panoplie littéraire
- 1970 : Un Siècle débordé
- 1980 : Solde
- 2001(?) : Portraits et Aphorismes