Robert Pinget

Robert Pinget
Born	(1919-07-19)19 July 1919 Geneva, Switzerland
Died	25 August 1997(1997-08-25) (aged 78) Tours, France
Literary movement	Nouveau roman
Notable works	The Inquisitory

Robert Pinget (French pronunciation: [ʁɔbɛʁ pɛ̃ʒɛ]; 19 July 1919 – 25 August 1997) was an avant-garde French writer, born in Switzerland, who wrote several novels and other prose pieces that drew comparison to Beckett and other major Modernist writers. He was also associated with the nouveau roman movement.

Recognition

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.

A translation of one of his best-known works, The Inquisitory (1962), was republished by Dalkey Archive Press in 2003.

Bibliography

Novels

• 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 and Boyers, 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 (1967; 1984)
• Le Fiston (Ed. de Minuit, 1959). No Answer, trans. Richard N. Coe (Calder, 1961). Also Monsieur Levert, trans. Richard Howard (Grove, 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). Passacaglia, trans. Barbara Wright (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). Theo or The New Era, trans. Barbara Wright (Red Dust, 1994)
• L'Affaire Ducreux et autres textes (Ed. de Minuit, 1995)
• 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. MetisPresses, 2009)
• Jean Loiseau, in Histoires littéraires n° 40 (2010)

Plays

• Lettre morte (Ed. de Minuit, 1959). Dead Letter (1963)
• La Manivelle (Ed. de Minuit, 1960). Bilingual edition with Samuel Beckett's translation: The Old Tune
• Clope au dossier (Ed. de Minuit, 1961). Clope (1963)
• Ici ou ailleurs (Ed. de Minuit, 1961)
• Architruc (Ed. de Minuit, 1961). Architruc (1967)
• L'Hypothèse (Ed. de Minuit, 1961). The Hypothesis (1967)
• Autour de Mortin (Ed. de Minuit, 1965). About Mortin (1967)
• Identité (Ed. de Minuit, 1971)
• Abel et Bela (Ed. de Minuit, 1971). Abel and Bela, trans. Barbara Wright (1987)
• Paralchimie (Ed. de Minuit, 1973)
• Nuit (Ed. de Minuit, 1973)
• Un Testament bizarre (Ed. de Minuit, 1986). A Bizarre Will (1989)

Compilations in English

• Plays, Volume 1 (1963). Includes: The Old Tune (trans. Samuel Beckett); Clope (trans. Barbara Bray); Dead Letter (trans. Barbara Bray)
• Plays, Volume 2 (1967). Includes: Architruc; About Mortin; The Hypothesis. Trans. Barbara Bray.
• Monsieur Songe, trans. Barbara Wright (Red Dust, 1988). Also includes "The Harness" and "Plough".
• A Bizarre Will and Other Plays, trans. Barbara Wright (Red Dust, 1989) Includes: A Bizarre Will; Mortin Not Dead; Dictation; Sophism and Sadism; The Chrysanthemum; Crazy Notion; Night; and About Nothing
• Trio (Dalkey Archive, 2005). Includes: Between Fantoine and Agapa; That Voice; Passacaglia

References

• Jean-Louis de Rambures, "Comment travaillent les écrivains", Paris 1978 (interview with R. Pinget, in French)

Criticism in English

• Robert Pinget: The Novel as Quest, by Robert Henkels, 1977

External links

• 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