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Robert Pinget
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Robert Pinget (French pronunciation: [ʁɔbɛʁ pɛ̃ʒɛ]; 19 July 1919 – 25 August 1997) was a Swiss-born French novelist and playwright associated with the nouveau roman movement.[1]
Key Information
Life and work
[edit]Robert Pinget was born in Geneva, Switzerland in 1919. After completing his law studies at the Collège de Genève and working as a lawyer for a year, he moved to Paris in 1946 to attend the Ecole des Beaux-Arts where he studied painting under Jean Souverbie.[1][2]
In 1951, he published his first novel, Entre Fantoine et Agapa. After publishing two other novels, but then having his fourth rejected by Gallimard, Pinget was recommended by Alain Robbe-Grillet and Samuel Beckett to Jérôme Lindon, head of Éditions de Minuit, where he published Graal Flibuste in 1956, and subsequently the rest of his work. He became a French citizen in 1960, and purchased a 16th-century house in Touraine where he spent the rest of his life.[2][3][4]
Scholars and critics have often associated his work with that of his friend Samuel Beckett, whom he met in 1955.[5][6]
Adaptations
[edit]The Old Tune, Samuel Beckett's free translation of La Manivelle, was produced by Barbara Bray and broadcast on BBC Third Programme on 23 August 1960.[7]
In 1962, Germaine Tailleferre of Les Six set eleven of Pinget's poems in a song cycle entitled "Pancarte pour Une Porte D'Entrée" (roughly translated as "Handbill for an Entrance") for medium voice and piano, commissioned by the American Soprano and Arts Patron Alice Swanson Esty.
Bibliography
[edit]Novels
[edit]- Entre Fantoine et Agapa (La Tour de Feu, 1951). Between Fantoine and Agapa, trans. Barbara Wright (Red Dust, 1982)
- Mahu ou le Matériau (Robert Laffont, 1952). Mahu or The Material, trans. Alan Smith (Calder & Boyars, 1966; Dalkey Archive, 2005)
- Le Renard et la boussole (Gallimard, 1953).
- Graal Flibuste (Ed. de Minuit, 1956). Graal Flibuste, trans. Anna Fitzgerald (Dalkey Archive, 2014)
- Baga (Ed. de Minuit, 1958). Baga, trans. John Stevenson (Calder & Boyars, 1967; 1984)
- Le Fiston (Ed. de Minuit, 1959). Monsieur Levert, trans. Richard Howard (Grove, 1961); also as No Answer, trans. Richard N. Coe (Calder, 1961)
- L'Inquisitoire (Ed. de Minuit, 1962). The Inquisitory, trans. Donald Watson (Calder & Boyars, 1966; 1982; 2003)
- Quelqu'un (Ed. de Minuit, 1965). Someone, trans. Barbara Wright (Red Dust, 1984)
- Le Libera (Ed. de Minuit, 1968). The Libera Me Domine, trans. Barbara Wright (Red Dust, 1978)
- Passacaille (Ed. de Minuit, 1969). Recurrent Melody, trans. Barbara Wright (Calder & Boyars, 1975); republished as Passacaglia (Red Dust, 1978)
- Fable (Ed. de Minuit, 1971). Fable, trans. Barbara Wright (Calder, 1980)
- Cette voix (Ed. de Minuit, 1975). That Voice, trans. Barbara Wright (Red Dust, 1982)
- L'Apocryphe (Ed. de Minuit, 1980). The Apocrypha, trans. Barbara Wright (Red Dust, 1986)
- Monsieur Songe (Ed. de Minuit, 1982). Monsieur Songe, trans. Barbara Wright (Red Dust, 1988)
- Le Harnais (Ed. de Minuit, 1984). The Harness (1988)
- Charrue (Ed. de Minuit, 1985). Plough (1988)
- L'Ennemi (Ed. de Minuit, 1987). The Enemy, trans. Barbara Wright (Red Dust, 1991)
- Du Nerf (Ed. de Minuit, 1990). Be Brave, trans. Barbara Wright (Red Dust, 1994)
- Cette Chose (1967; 1990). By Robert Pinget and Jean Deyrolle (editor)
- Théo ou Le temps neuf (Ed. de Minuit, 1991). Théo or The New Era, trans. Barbara Wright (Red Dust, 1994)
- Tâches d'encre (Ed. de Minuit, 1997). Traces of Ink, trans. Barbara Wright (Red Dust, 2000)
- Mahu reparle (Ed. des Cendres, 2009)
- La Fissure, précédée de Malicotte-la-Frontière (Ed. MētisPresses, 2009)
- Jean Loiseau, in Histoires littéraires n° 40 (2010)
Plays
[edit]- Lettre morte (Ed. de Minuit, 1959). Dead Letter (1963)
- La Manivelle (Ed. de Minuit, 1960). Bilingual edition with Samuel Beckett's free translation, The Old Tune
- Clope au dossier (Ed. de Minuit, 1961). Clope (1963)
- Ici ou ailleurs, Architruc, L'Hypothèse (Ed. de Minuit, 1961)
- Autour de Mortin (Ed. de Minuit, 1965). About Mortin (1967)
- Abel et Bela (Ed. de Minuit, 1971). Abel and Bela, trans. Barbara Wright (Red Dust, 1987)
- Identité (Ed. de Minuit, 1971)
- Paralchimie, suivi de Architruc, L'Hypothèse, Nuit (Ed. de Minuit, 1973)
- Un testament bizarre, et autres pièces (Ed. de Minuit, 1986). Includes: Un testament bizarre, Mortin pas mort, Dictée, Sophisme et sadisme, Le chrysanthème, Lubie
- De rien (1992). About Nothing (1989)
- L'Affaire Ducreux, et autres pièces (1995). Includes: L'Affaire Ducreux, De rien, Nuit, Le bifteck
Compilations in English
[edit]- Plays, Volume 1 (Calder, 1963). Includes: The Old Tune (trans. Samuel Beckett); Clope (trans. Barbara Bray); Dead Letter (trans. Barbara Bray).
- Plays, Volume 2 (Calder & Boyars, 1967). Includes: Architruc; About Mortin; The Hypothesis. Translations by Barbara Bray.
- Monsieur Songe (Red Dust, 1988). Also includes "The Harness" and "Plough". Translations by Barbara Wright.
- A Bizarre Will and Other Plays (Red Dust, 1989). Includes: A Bizarre Will; Mortin Not Dead; Dictation; Sophism and Sadism; The Chrysanthemum; Crazy Notion; Night; and About Nothing. Translations by Barbara Wright.
- Trio (Dalkey Archive, 2005). Includes: Between Fantoine and Agapa; That Voice; Passacaglia. Translations by Barbara Wright.
Interviews and works about Pinget
[edit]- Robert Pinget: The Novel as Quest, by Robert Henkels, 1977.
- Jean-Louis de Rambures, "Comment travaillent les écrivains", Paris 1978 (includes an interview with R. Pinget, in French)
Awards and honors
[edit]- 1959: Prix Rambert, for Le Fiston
- 1965: Prix Femina, for Quelqu'un
- 1987: Grand prix national des Lettres
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Riding, Alan (12 September 1997). "Robert Pinget, 78, a Master Of the Nouveau Roman, Dies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 13 February 2025.
- ^ a b "Robert Pinget | RED DUST BOOKS". 7 November 2016. Archived from the original on 7 November 2016. Retrieved 20 March 2025.
- ^ Le chantier Robert Pinget : Colloque de Tours. Jean-Michel Place. 2000. p. 13.
- ^ "Pinget Robert". www.leseditionsdeminuit.fr. Retrieved 13 February 2025.
- ^ Mégevand, Martin (2010). "Pinget seen by Beckett, Beckett according to Pinget: The Unpublishable". Journal of Beckett Studies. 19 (1): 3–14. doi:10.3366/E0309520709000417. ISSN 0309-5207. JSTOR 26469652.
- ^ Smart, Marie (2014). "New Novel, Old Tune: Beckett and Pinget in Postwar France". Modernism/Modernity. 21 (2): 529–546. doi:10.1353/mod.2014.0054. ISSN 1080-6601.
- ^ "BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 23 August 1960. Archived from the original on 24 January 2021. Retrieved 13 February 2025.
External links
[edit]- Publications by and about Robert Pinget in the catalogue Helveticat of the Swiss National Library
- The official website of Robert Pinget
- Obituary in English at the Wayback Machine (archived January 19, 2000)
- Biography, in French
- A comprehensive web site in French
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Robert Pinget
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Early Life
Birth and Family Background
Robert André John Pinget was born on July 19, 1919, in Geneva, Switzerland, where he held Swiss nationality at birth.[1][3] He was the first child of Blanche Montant and Emile Pinget, a businessman.[4][3]Education and Early Profession
Robert Pinget studied law in Geneva, earning a degree from the University of Geneva. [5] [6] He briefly practiced as a lawyer in Geneva after completing his studies, with accounts consistently describing this period as approximately one year or a short time before he abandoned the profession, which he did not enjoy. [7] [1] [8] In 1946, he decided to leave Switzerland and relocate to Paris. [9] [10]Move to France
Relocation to Paris and Study of Painting
In 1946, Robert Pinget left Geneva and relocated to Paris to study painting at the École des Beaux-Arts, where he became a pupil of the painter Jean Souverbie. [11] He attended Souverbie's atelier from 1946 to 1948, pursuing his initial ambitions in the visual arts during this period. [4] This move marked a deliberate shift toward artistic training in painting after his earlier legal studies and brief practice as a lawyer in Switzerland. [11] Pinget's time at the Beaux-Arts represented a dedicated phase of engagement with pictorial creation, during which he nourished aspirations in the field and held exhibitions of his paintings in Paris in 1950. [11] [4] He later reflected that he had come to Paris specifically to pursue painting and learned much there, though the period proved brief. [4] This early focus on visual arts soon gave way as he turned his attention elsewhere in his creative development. [11]Acquisition of French Citizenship
Robert Pinget resumed French citizenship in 1966 while retaining his Genevan (Swiss) nationality. [12] [13] Biographical accounts from his French publishers and cultural institutions describe this as a resumption of French nationality, linked to his family origins in Savoy. [14] Some sources cite the date as 1960, but French-language references consistently indicate 1966. [15] This step marked his full legal integration into France after years of residence there. [16] Around the same period, he purchased a house in Touraine, supporting his permanent settlement in the region.Literary Career
Debut Works and Early Publications
Robert Pinget's literary career commenced with the publication of his first work, the short story collection Entre Fantoine et Agapa, in 1951 by the small press La Tour de Feu in Jarnac. [17] This debut was followed by his first novel, Mahu ou le Matériau, released in 1952 by the publisher Robert Laffont in Paris. [18] In 1953, he published his third book, the novel Le Renard et la boussole, with Gallimard. [19] These early publications represented Pinget's initial efforts in fiction, establishing his voice prior to greater recognition. [20] However, his fourth novel was rejected by Gallimard. [20] He was subsequently recommended to Éditions de Minuit by Alain Robbe-Grillet and Samuel Beckett. [20]Association with Nouveau Roman and Éditions de Minuit
Robert Pinget joined Éditions de Minuit in 1956 with the publication of his novel Graal Flibuste, which initiated his enduring relationship with the influential French publishing house led by Jérôme Lindon. [12] This shift proved pivotal in his career, as nearly his entire subsequent body of work—novels, plays, radio scripts, and notebooks—was published by Minuit, establishing him as a key author within its catalog. [12] His integration into Éditions de Minuit coincided with his recognition as one of the founders of the Nouveau Roman movement, alongside Alain Robbe-Grillet, Michel Butor, Claude Ollier, Claude Simon, and Nathalie Sarraute, a group immortalized in a well-known photograph taken in front of the publisher's offices on rue Bernard Palissy. [12] Although associated with the Nouveau Roman and regarded as a major figure in its experimental questioning of narrative conventions, Pinget himself downplayed the idea of a formal or cohesive school, emphasizing that the writers respected one another but did not meet frequently, exchange works regularly, or form close personal bonds within the group. [1] Among his literary connections, Pinget developed a particularly close friendship with Samuel Beckett, who translated his radio play La Manivelle into English as The Old Tune for a 1960 BBC broadcast and later directed Pinget's L'Hypothèse in 1966 for the Renaud-Barrault company. [12] [1] This relationship stood out as one of the most significant personal and professional ties in Pinget's career, distinct from his more distant associations with other Nouveau Roman writers. [1]Major Novels
Robert Pinget's major novels are distinguished by their self-reflexive narration, rejection of conventional plot and stable characters, and a persistent quest for truth through fragmented, contradictory, and oral-driven structures. His prose often privileges auditory and musical qualities—repetition, variation, resonance, and rhythmic punctuation—over visual realism, creating a distinctive style that aligns with the Nouveau Roman while emphasizing the "ear" and Baroque musical influences. These works explore the unreliability of memory, the fluidity of storytelling, and the tension between imagination and fading reality, frequently employing narrative circularity and digression to evoke elusive meaning. Key titles include Le Fiston (1959), which marked his early experimental voice, and L'Inquisitoire (1962), widely regarded as a masterpiece and his longest novel, constructed entirely as an interrogation of a servant that accumulates contradictory realist details about a presumed crime without ever forming a coherent plot. The reader is compelled to imaginatively assemble the "story" from inconsistencies, highlighting themes of testimony, secrecy, and the impossibility of definitive truth. Subsequent novels such as Quelqu'un (1965), Le Libera (1968), and Passacaille (1969) extended this approach, with Passacaille drawing explicitly on musical form for its structure and variations. Later works, including Cette voix (1975), L'Apocryphe (1980), Monsieur Songe (1982), L'Ennemi (1987), and Théo ou Le temps neuf (1991), deepened the self-reflexive dimension, particularly through the recurring alter ego Monsieur Songe—an elderly retired writer who anchors a late series of carnets reflecting on aging, textual revision, and "dewriting" (désécrire) the narrative. These novels sustain Pinget's commitment to contradiction as a path to truth, blending whimsical humor with serious interrogations of meaning, while parodic elements (as in Cette voix's ghost-story send-ups) underscore the joy and liberty of linguistic play.[2][21][2][21][2]Dramatic Works and Plays
Robert Pinget produced around twenty dramatic works, encompassing both stage plays and radio pieces, many of which explore themes and narrative techniques akin to those in his novels, thereby blurring traditional genre boundaries between prose fiction and theater. [4] [22] His dramatic output began in the late 1950s with Lettre morte (1959), a one-act stage play that marked his entry into theater. [4] This was followed by the radio play La Manivelle (1960), which Samuel Beckett freely adapted and translated into English as The Old Tune for BBC radio broadcast in 1960. [23] Subsequent early works include L'Hypothèse (1961) and Architruc (1961), both of which were published and later staged. [22] [4] In later decades, Pinget continued to write for the stage and radio, with notable pieces such as Abel et Bela (1971) and De rien (1992). [4] His dramatic production remained focused primarily on stage and radio formats, with minimal direct involvement in film or television adaptations. [22] Some of his novels were later adapted for the stage by other directors. [4]Personal Life
Residence in Touraine
Robert Pinget settled in Touraine in 1964, specifically in the commune of Luzillé, sharing his time initially between the countryside and Paris before making Touraine his main home.[11] [24] He lived in a house there for the remainder of his life, undertaking renovations that included the addition of a tower named "la tour Mahu" after one of his fictional characters.[25] Pinget expressed a preference for working in Touraine, where the tranquil setting supported his ongoing literary endeavors.[11]Friendships and Literary Influences
Robert Pinget formed a close and enduring friendship with Samuel Beckett after meeting him in December 1953.[26] Their relationship developed through extensive correspondence preserved in archives, with Beckett sending dozens of letters offering honest criticism, encouragement, and practical support that helped the initially unconfident Pinget build his literary career.[27] Beckett pressed Pinget's case with publisher Jérôme Lindon, suggested job opportunities, and occasionally provided financial assistance, fostering Pinget's growth as a writer within the circle of Éditions de Minuit.[27] The two collaborated on translations, with Pinget rendering Beckett's radio play All That Fall into French as Tous ceux qui tombent in 1957, and Beckett adapting Pinget's La Manivelle into English as The Old Tune in 1963.[2] Pinget expressed deep admiration for Beckett's work, citing the strong impression left by his trilogy and plays, and even began an unfinished intimate tribute titled Notre ami Samuel Beckett around 1960.[26] Their bond reflected a shared fierce determination to write, described as a vital necessity binding them despite differences in fame and style.[26] Pinget distinguished his literary approach from that of Alain Robbe-Grillet, noting in a 1993 interview that while Robbe-Grillet emphasized the eye, he himself privileged the ear.[2]Awards and Recognition
Robert Pinget received the following major literary awards:- Prix des Critiques (French Critics’ Prize) in 1963 for L’Inquisitoire (published 1962) [28]
- Prix Femina in 1965 for Quelqu’un [1]
- Grand Prix National des Lettres in 1987 [1]
- Grand Prix de littérature de la SGDL in 1990