Jean Malaquais
Encyclopedia
Jean Malaquais was a French novelist.
He was born as Wladimir Malacki in Warsaw in 1908 of a non-religious Polish family of Jewish descent. In 1926, he left Poland, traveling in Eastern Europe and the Middle East; he wrote: "I had the feeling that the end of the world was approaching in Poland, so I wanted to discover the life of other lands before it disappeared entirely. Morally and intellectually I was a tramp, a companion of the dispossessed." He settled in France, where he worked as a laborer, and adopted the name of Jean Malaquais (which he took from the Quai Malaquais). He was associated with, though not formally a member of, several French leftist organizations, including the Trotskyist Communist League
, and during the Spanish Civil War
he joined the Republican forces as a member of the militia columns of the left Workers' Party of Marxist Unification (POUM
). He obtained the Prix Renaudot
in 1939 for his novel Les Javanais, based on his experience as an immigrant mine worker in Provence
; it was admired by André Gide
, who made Malaquais his private secretary.
At the beginning of World War II, he was conscripted into the French army, though not a French citizen. He was captured by the Germans, but managed to escape, and fled to southern France. In 1943, he succeeded in leaving France with the assistance of Varian Fry and the Emergency Rescue Committee bound for Mexico, and, eventually the United States, where he became a naturalised citizen; his parents died in Nazi concentration camps. He returned to France in 1947, but left again for the United States in 1948. (Beginning in 1942 and continuing after the war, he was a member of the Trotskyist group Gauche communiste de France; in the United States, he was loosely affiliated with a number of non-Communist left groups.) His most famous work, about an international group of exiles in Vichy France
, was Planète sans visa (1947), which has been translated into many languages.
He was born as Wladimir Malacki in Warsaw in 1908 of a non-religious Polish family of Jewish descent. In 1926, he left Poland, traveling in Eastern Europe and the Middle East; he wrote: "I had the feeling that the end of the world was approaching in Poland, so I wanted to discover the life of other lands before it disappeared entirely. Morally and intellectually I was a tramp, a companion of the dispossessed." He settled in France, where he worked as a laborer, and adopted the name of Jean Malaquais (which he took from the Quai Malaquais). He was associated with, though not formally a member of, several French leftist organizations, including the Trotskyist Communist League
Communist League
The Communist League was the first Marxist international organization. It was founded originally as the League of the Just by German workers in Paris in 1834. This was initially a utopian socialist and Christian communist group devoted to the ideas of Gracchus Babeuf...
, and during the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
he joined the Republican forces as a member of the militia columns of the left Workers' Party of Marxist Unification (POUM
Poum
Poum is a commune in the North Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. The town of Poum is located in the far northwest, located on the southern part of Banare Bay, with Mouac Island just offshore....
). He obtained the Prix Renaudot
Prix Renaudot
The Prix Théophraste-Renaudot or Prix Renaudot is a French literary award which was created in 1926 by ten art critics awaiting the results of the deliberation of the jury of the Prix Goncourt....
in 1939 for his novel Les Javanais, based on his experience as an immigrant mine worker in Provence
Provence
Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
; it was admired by 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...
, who made Malaquais his private secretary.
At the beginning of World War II, he was conscripted into the French army, though not a French citizen. He was captured by the Germans, but managed to escape, and fled to southern France. In 1943, he succeeded in leaving France with the assistance of Varian Fry and the Emergency Rescue Committee bound for Mexico, and, eventually the United States, where he became a naturalised citizen; his parents died in Nazi concentration camps. He returned to France in 1947, but left again for the United States in 1948. (Beginning in 1942 and continuing after the war, he was a member of the Trotskyist group Gauche communiste de France; in the United States, he was loosely affiliated with a number of non-Communist left groups.) His most famous work, about an international group of exiles in Vichy France
Vichy France
Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
, was Planète sans visa (1947), which has been translated into many languages.
Major works
- Les Javanais, éditions Denoël, Paris, 1939.
- Journal de guerre, Éditions de la Maison Française, New York, 1943
- "Deux nouvelles de Jean Malaquais", in Les Œuvres nouvelles 2, Éditions de la Maison Française, New York, 1943.
- Coups de barre, récits, Éditions de la Maison Française, New York, 1944.
- Planète sans visa, Le Pré aux Clercs, Paris, 1947, translated as World Without Visa.
- Le Gaffeur, Buchet-Chastel, Paris, 1953.
- Søren Kierkegaard: Foi et Paradoxe, 10/18, UGE, Paris, 1971.
- "Le Nommé Louis Aragon ou le patriote professionnel", Masses, février 1947, repr. in Les Archipels du surréalisme, Éditions Syllepse, 1998.
- Correspondance (1935–1950) d'André Gide et Jean Malaquais, éditions Phébus, Paris, 2000.
Translations
- Les Nus et les morts, tr. of Norman MailerNorman MailerNorman Kingsley Mailer was an American novelist, journalist, essayist, poet, playwright, screenwriter, and film director.Along with Truman Capote, Joan Didion, Hunter S...
, The Naked and the DeadThe Naked and the DeadThe Naked and the Dead is a 1948 novel by Norman Mailer. It was based on his experiences with the 112th Cavalry Regiment during the Philippines Campaign in World War II...
. - Occultisme, sorcellerie et modes culturelles, tr. of Mircea Eliade, Ocultism, witchcraft and cultural fashions.