| Some Questions and Answers |
| Vian and Satre |  |
Amongst most of the English language writers on Vian, they concentrate on Vian's involvement with Les Temps Moderne. In about 1946, I suppose, he began his "Chroniques du Menteur," of which he published about six or so. Another three or four were written but never published. They criticized the magazine in many ways and seemed out of place as Les Temps Moderne was becoming a largely Communist magazine. As the story goes, Vian's column annoyed Sartre, who refused to print them. On the other hand, Sartre and SImone de Beauvoir's biographers point out that Sartre began a lifelong, until his death in 1980, in fact, affair with Vian's first wife, Michele L'Eglise. Vian and her divorced in 1951 or 2 or so under messy circumstances which seems to have driven a wedge between Sartre, who sympathized with L'Eglise, and Vian, with whom de Beauvoir sypathized. But it's all unclear. Who fired Vian from TM, Sartre, de Beauvoir, who was acting as his representative while he was in the US for the large part of 1946, or Maurice Merleau-Ponty, the utterly humorless hardline Communist whom Vian, I suppose, would have thought an intolerable bore? And for that matter, if Sartre didn't do in Vian, did they remain close or at least on friendly terms until the divorce? And lastly, Vian and de Beauvoir. In her biography, Deidre Bair claims de Beauvoir was deeply troubled by Vian's death as late as 1962, byt Les Temps Moderne never even ran an obituary for their former columnist. -- Jeremy Barker (jray745@yahoo.com)
The connections between Satre and the Vians I think are very complicated. If you read "Froth on the Daydream" Stanley Chapman's translation of L'ecume you will see that Vian hilariously pillories Satre's "fame". Principally, Satre believed in group action and Vian didn't. Vian felt no matter what side the group was on, it had its rules and therefore obedience and "disobedience". Vian was an individualist. He never gave up (for any cause or any other reason) his right to be inappropriate, playful, maverick. Vian played around with his column so much they had to drop him. He even used it to attack Combat's position. Not that he opposed it, he was just misbehaving. His only adherence to a group was the College du Pataphyisique - a kind of Silly People's Party celebrating Alfred Jarry's sense of the absurd -- you can get the sense of it in Jarry's Adventures of Dr Faustroll. Sartre and de Beauvoir loved Boris and promoted him often. Satre nominated Vian for the a celebrated price for a novel, probably L'Ecume. Satre certainly had a relationship with Vian's first wife Michele. I didn't know the separation was messy. - rob@toadshow.com.au
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| How did he dies? | |
The story goes like this: Having had a heart condition all his life which should have prevented him being exuberant in all things (but didn't) in 1959 at age 39 he went to a screening of a really bad film based on his book I spit on your graves. Apparently he had "forgotten" to take his heart medicine that morning. He did not approve of the film and had not been involved in the screenplay. After 10 minutes he apparently stood up and said "These are supposed to be Americans? My arse!" Then he collapsed and died.
Here is the version you will find in the Cismaru link under "General Criticism"
In 1932 Boris's heart was affected by rhuematic fever. Three years later he was struck down again, this time with typhoid fever. More heart problems.
After 1956 his health dramatically worsened. Nevertheless, he continued to write, publishing the play Les Batisseurs d'Empire, and many articles for Jazz-Hot.
In 1958 he finished his opera Fiesta written with Darius Milhaud and left Philips to work with the Barclay Recording Co., once again as artistic director.
On 23 June he went to a preview screening of the film J'irai cracher sur vos tombes. He strongly disapproved of the film's treatment of his work, having battled with the film company for years and having all his own film treatments of the book rejected by the producers. Having forgotten to take his medicine that morning, and very agitated, the experience literally killed him.
After ten minutes of attendance, seated in an armchair, he collapsed and died.
Bart Plantenga's version (under Novels & Stories) goes like this:
Death’s Punchline
On the morning of June 23, 1959 Vian sank nervously down into his seat in the stuffy Cinema Marbeuf as he awaited the private screening of the film version of his controversial novel, J’Irai Cracher Sur Vos Tombes (I Spit On Your Graves). He’d already denounced it, had already fought so much with the producers over their treatment versus his that he was ready to remove his name from the credits. He’d also "forgotten" to take his heart medicine that morning. The curtains parted and ten minutes after the first images flickered across the screen he reportedly blurted, "These guys are supposed to be American? My ass!" At 10:10 AM he collapsed into his seat and died of a heart attack en route to the hospital. The horror of coming face-to-face with his own Frankenstein literally may have killed him.
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| Vian in Spanish | |
There is one book about Boris Vian that has been translated into spanish and that it is very hard to find. Is the one written by Jean Clouzet. It was printed by Editorial Jucar, Coleccion Los Juglares. Translated by Mary Luz Melcon, Barcelona, Spain, 1976. It was taken from the edition printed originally in french in 1971. -- Gerardo Acosta (ubikg@yahoo.com)
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| Where is Boris Vian's Grave? | |
Vian is buried "dans le cimetière de Ville- d'Avray, avenue Thierry, non loin de Jean Rostand".
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| Who holds film and publishing rights? | |
This is a bit hard to tell for English readers, although Tosh Berman from Tam Tam books has secured rights to several books (Spit, Autumn, L'Ecume, Affreux).
Some say contact: Mrs Marine Bertea, Editions Fayard Paris, Fax: 0033 1 45 49 82 54
Others say contact Ursula Kubler for the French Rights, (she lives in the south of France and should be contactable through any recent publisher of L'Ecume". If you want to contact Ursula, perhaps write to Tosh Berm
For the English translation, Froth -- Stanley Chapman lives in London and should be contactable through various publishers there.
Also some say contact Le Fondation Boris Vian in Paris (6 bis cite veron) to enquire about the rights.
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| Is there a Japanese movie version of L'Ecume des Jours | |
It is called Chloe. Distributor: J-Works, 128 Minutes Starring: Masatoshi Nagase, Shinya Tsukamoto, Miyuki Matsuda, Shinji Aoyam Directed by: Go Riju
Veteran actor turned filmmaker Go Riju spins this love story about the beautiful and doomed. Chloe (Rie Tomosaka) meets Kotaro (Masatoshi Nagase) at an art show at a local mall and true to generic form, they fall in love at first sight.
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