Lot n° 141
Estimation :
40000 - 50000
EUR
Result with fees
Result
: 47 425EUR
QUENEAU Raymond.
CORRESPONDENCE addressed to Raymond Queneau, 1920-1976; approximately 18,000 letters, manuscripts, cards, etc., in 43 archival boxes.
Important correspondence addressed to Queneau throughout his life, an extraordinary testimony to half a century of friendships and publishing.
We can only give a brief overview of the richness of this collection before making a non-exhaustive inventory.
Because of his central position in the world of letters and the variety of his interests, Raymond Queneau was in contact with all the outstanding literary figures of the time, such as
Roland Barthes, Italo Calvino, Aimé Césaire, Blaise Cendrars, Jean Cocteau, René Char, Eugène Ionesco, Pierre Mac Orlan, André Malraux, André
Gide, Roger Nimier, Georges Perec, Francis Ponge, Jacques Prévert, JeanPaul Sartre, Marguerite Yourcenar, etc., to the new generation:
Jacques Roubaud, Michel Deguy, the Lettrist Maurice Lemaître, Claude
Simon, Patrick Modiano, Frédéric Vitoux, or the young Mouloudji who submitted his first novel... But also thinkers: Gaston Bachelard, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Georges Dumézil or Alexandre Kojève... Artists such as Fernand Léger, Enrico Baj, Pol Bury, Jean Cortot, Jean
Effel or Élie Lascaux (very beautiful illustrated letters, including one with a portrait of Queneau); theatre men such as Jean-Louis Barrault, filmmakers such as René Clément, Alain Resnais or Jean-Pierre Mocky, actors such as Serge Reggiani, musicians such as Joseph
Kosma or Georges Auric. And so many others...
Continuous friendships. Several important correspondences, composed of hundreds of letters, testify to unfailing friendships over time. Jacques BENS (1931-2001) was a young poet whose first collection, Chanson vécue, was published by Gallimard in 1958, thanks to Raymond Queneau. This was the beginning of a relationship that would last until Queneau's death. A respectful admirer, Jacques Bens confided more and more over time, commenting on the works of his elder, the literary life. He was one of the founders of the Oulipo and one of the finest commentators on Queneau's work. Jean QUEVAL (1913-1990), journalist, critic, poet, novelist, playwright, translator, oulipian, was also a dear friend; he devoted to Queneau a volume of the collection
- tion "Poètes d'aujourd'hui" published by Seghers. His humorous letters span decades and cover all subjects, literary and intimate. In a different style, the letters of Pierre JOSSERAND (1898-1972), curator at the Bibliothèque Nationale, Queneau's main collaborator ("Mon cher d'Alembert") for the collection of "Famous Writers" published by Mazenod, are of impressive erudition and constant dry humour.
The letters of his great mathematical friend François LE LIONNAIS (1901-1984) are fascinating for recons
- tituting the workings of the Oulipo, but also take a more personal turn, like the one from 1945 in which he recalls his arrest by the Gestapo. Those of his youthful friends in Le Havre, Jean and Louis
PIEL, offer a unique account of Queneau's early life and his entry into literature. Let us also mention the interesting correspondence of his translators, Eugen HELMLÉ for German, and Barbara WRIGHT for English, which show the difficulties involved in transferring Queneau's linguistic subtleties into another language.
The Collège de Pataphysique. Raymond Queneau was a member of the Collège de Pataphysique from the very beginning, where he went directly to the highest distinction, that of Satrape. Letters from Latis, Noël Arnaud, François
Caradec, Paul Gayot, etc., bear witness to the spirit of this mysterious institution. Let us quote the no less mysterious LATIS: "It will not be entirely indifferent to you - however detached you may be from literary reputation - to know that one day our civilization will be known only by the Battre la campagne. You may have noticed that next to my shanty there is a little hut. It is commonly called the Forge.
I have tinkered there, among other things, a modest time machine, which is not worth much. It may work sometimes, but the focus is not good. I'll end up staying there, and that's not the worst thing that could happen to me. Or the poet André
MARTEL, the "Papapafol": "I would have liked, when I was in Panamyre, to be able to see you at the Gallimardière. The damsel of the bou
- quinothèque ènérèfe, elmadit : Mossieu Knô, ilépala. Ej mensuis anallé totontrit du papuvoir "... Let us also mention the correspondence of the members of OULIPO.
Editorial activity. An influential member of the reading committee of the publisher
Gallimard for more than thirty years, Raymond Queneau occupies an important place in the history of French publishing in
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