Jean Proal Explained

Birth Date:	16 July 1904
Occupation:	Writer

Jean Proal (16 July 1904 – 24 February 1969^[1]) was a French writer.

Life

He wrote some short stories aged twenty-four and twenty-five^[2] then his first novel Tempête de printemps at age 28.

Writers such as Jean Giono,^[3] Roger Martin du Gard, ... encouraged him. He was friend with .

Mobilized in 1939 in an artillery regiment, he was reformed in 1940 for health reasons.^[4] He had some difficulty in getting himself published, before signing at Éditions Denoël, and despite the critic Léon Derey, he was considered only as a writer following Giono and Ramuz.^[4] In 1942, he was transferred to Paris, where he tried to obtain the Prix Goncourt.^[5] He began to make himself known to the literary milieu, and received marks of esteem from authors such as Max Jacob, Blaise Cendrars, Jean de La Varende and Jean Rostand^[6]

His work amounts to a dozen novels, stories and short stories, and a few interviews.

In 1950 he came to live in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence where he became friends with Louis Aragon and painters such as Hans Hartung and Mario Prassinos. He abandoned his post as official (receiver at registration) and opened a store of electrical appliances in 1951.^[7]

He received the Grand prix du roman de la société des gens de lettres for De sel et de cendre in 1953 and was the first Prix de Provence for the whole of his work in 1961.

At his last moments in 1969, he wrote these words: "It is light that makes me breathe." He dies of a lung disease.^[8]

Works

Novels

• 1932: Tempête de printemps, Denoël
• 1933: À hauteur d’homme, Denoël
• 1942: Les Arnaud, Denoël
• 1943: Où souffle la lombarde, Denoël, Prix Cazes
• 1944: Montagne aux solitudes, Denoël
• 1945: Bagarres, Denoël
• 1948: Suite montagnarde, Denoël
• 1948: Au pays du chamois, Denoë
• 1953: De sel et de cendre, Éditions Julliard
• 1955: Le vin d’orage, Julliard, 1955

Tales

• 1950: Histoire de Lou, Éditions Gallimard, Collection Blanche

Essays

• Camargue, Lausanne, Marguerat, with photographs by Denys Colomb de Daunant
• Chasse en montagne, Lausanne, Marguerat, 1962, with photographs by Charles Vaucher.
• Chasse en plaine, Lausanne, Marguerat, 1962, with photographs by different artists
• Magie de la Camargue, Ekkehard Presse, with photographs by Denys Colomb de Daunant.

Adaptation to film

• The novel Bagarres was adapted to cinema by Henri Calef in 1948 under the same title Bagarres, with María Casares and Roger Pigaut in the main roles.

Sources

• Jean Proal, une écriture saisissante, bulletin issue 1 de l’Association des Amis de Jean Proal, 2007

External links

• Les amis de Jean Proal
• Jean Broal on Babelio
• Jean Proal, ecrivain-poète on Les Amis de Jean Proal
• Jean Proal, créateur d'humanité on Artois Presses Université
• Autour de Jean Proal, artistes d'hier et d'aujourd'hui on Archives des Alpes-de-haute-Provence
• Jean Proal (1904-1969) on Sabenca Valeia

Notes and References

1. « L’Auteur, sa vie et son "histoire littéraire" », in Jean Proal, une écriture saisissante, bulletin n° 1 de l’Association des Amis de Jean Proal, 2007, (p. 9-25)
2. « L’Auteur, sa vie et son "histoire littéraire" », p 16,
3. who wrote several letters of encouragement between 1929 and 1931, « L’Auteur, sa vie et son "histoire littéraire" », p 16,
4. « L’Auteur, sa vie et son "histoire littéraire" », p 17
5. « L’Auteur, sa vie et son "histoire littéraire" », p 18
6. « L’Auteur, sa vie et son "histoire littéraire" », p 19
7. .« L’Auteur, sa vie et son "histoire littéraire" », p 22
8. « L’Auteur, sa vie et son "histoire littéraire" », p. 10