Jean-Pierre Genet's French writer

Jean Genet (1September 3, 953-), a homosexual, is a famous contemporary French novelist, playwright, poet, critic and social activist.

Genet was a vagrant in his early years. He was arrested for stealing and later turned to writing. He is the author of novels such as Battle of Brest, Diary of a Thief, Our Lady in the Flowers, and plays such as Watch, Balcony, Black Slave and Screen.

Genet directed movies, and many of his works have been adapted into movies. For example, Lena Werner fassbinder once made a film called Mariner in Fog Harbor based on the Battle of Brest. His life is quite legendary. Abandoned by his parents when he was young, he later became a thief, and almost all his adolescence was spent in vagrancy, theft and prison. Genet thinks that his crime is caused by social environment, but this hypocritical society itself has not been punished, so he decides to be at odds with this society. He found that writing was a more effective way to judge disobedience, so he wrote the novels The Virgin of Flowers and The Miracle of the Rose in prison. These two works, as well as another novel by Genet, Diary of a Thief, are autobiographical to a considerable extent. Notre Dame in Flowers and Miracle of the Rose are wonderful works in French literature in the 20th century, but they have long been regarded as "flowers of evil". Because the novel describes the most taboo issues, such as homosexuality and prison life, it reminds the guilty mentality to the fullest. It is not difficult to see the efforts towards poetic beauty in the author's colorful writing. Sartre found something special, even noble, in jean jeunet's works, that is, his unrestrained protest against people's absurd living situation.

19 10- 19 15

Jean Genet was born in Tanier Hospital in assas Street. My mother, Camier Gabriel Genet, is 22 years old, single and calls herself "the housekeeper". My father was still alive at that time, but he didn't leave a name. Seven months later, that is, 19 1 1 July 18, the mother abandoned her child in the nursery and never came back to see her son. On July 30th of the same year, Jean Genet was adopted by a small rural craftsman named Rainier, who lived in Arini village in the Morwan Mountain area. Later, the writer mentioned this place in his novel The Virgin of Flowers. The adoptive parents promised to raise him to 13 years old. He was lucky to be taken care of by his wet nurse, who taught him Christianity since childhood and joined the choir of Arini church.

19 16- 1923

1965438+In September, 2006, Jean Jene entered a local school with excellent academic performance, ranking among the best. But a teaching activity dealt a great blow to his young mind. Sixty years later, the writer talked about it in an interview. He said: "I was not French or a villager when I was very young. I know this way is naive and stupid. The thing is this: the teacher asked to write a short composition, and each student must describe his house ... according to the teacher's evaluation, my description is the best. He read my article aloud to the whole class, and all the students laughed at me and said,' But this is not his home, he is an abandoned child who was picked up.' I suddenly feel that my heart has been hollowed out and I have suffered great shame ... Oh! Not too harsh, but I hate France. Is it a' hate' word? Should be deeper than hate. It's not too much to say that France makes me sick. "(see" the publicly announced enemy ").

From then on, he began to steal. He stole the school ruler and pencil, and also stole a few pennies from his adoptive parents to buy candy and snacks to share with his classmates. He wrote in an unpublished thief diary: "When I was ten years old, I stole people I loved. I knew they were all poor. When people found out, they called me a thief. I think the word thief hurts me deeply. "

1922 in April, the adoptive mother Eugè ne Rainier died, and Jean Genel was raised by her daughter Bert. Graduated from primary school in July, 1923, ranking first in the region. This was the first and last time he got a diploma, and later he never had the chance to receive any school education.

1924- 1929

1924 was sent to an apprentice training center in Paris to study printing in June. But after only half a month, he fled the center and left a message to his children saying that he was going to Egypt or the United States. In the report, the director of the center has noticed that he is "feminine" like a girl and "has read too many adventure novels and his mental state is suspicious".

He was soon found in Nice and sent back to a public shelter. In the next two years, he changed hands frequently like a commodity, worked in several workshops and farms, and was treated inhumanely and unbearable. He escaped and came in again. He dreamed of fleeing France, and the police caught him at stations, trains and port cities from time to time. He was quickly sent back to Paris.

1925 In April, he was arranged to study the art of poetry in the home of the blind composer Rene Debik Say, but he was dismissed in June of 10 because he "misappropriated" and "squandered" a sum of money in a market.

16 years old, that is, 1926 in March, he got his first taste of imprisonment and spent three months in Little Rogate Prison. He was released in June, detained in July for traveling without a ticket, and sent to Mocheng for 45 days.

On September 2nd, 1926, the court entrusted the rural children's rehabilitation center in mettler, dulan county to supervise their labor reform until they reached adulthood.

He stayed in it for two and a half years. In his view, this is a "prison for child offenders". In this children's hell, he felt "extraordinary happiness". The novel Miracle of the Rose describes the life of many children's reformatory schools.

1929- 1935

After 18 years old, Jean Genet was drafted into the army. He volunteered to serve in the French Oriental Army. 19301arrived in Beirut on October 28th, joined the company in Damascus and served as a soldier for one year. It was also his first contact with the Arab world in his life, which laid the groundwork for his Arab complex in his later years.

193 1 July, he was transferred to another French colonial army, the Moroccan Indigenous Corps, and stayed in Morocco for 19 months.

1933 After his demobilization in June, he visited the great writer Gide in Paris, and then decided to travel far away, claiming to go to Tripoli, Libya. He started from Paris and went south to Spain, but soon he couldn't walk any further. He wrote to Gide that he "wandered all the way from village to village". From the autobiographical novel Diary of a Thief published later, it can be seen that he lives by begging and prostitution.

1in April, 934, he returned to the army, signed a third service contract, and became a soldier of the Algerian Indigenous Corps in Tours. During this period, he read a lot of famous works at home and abroad, especially interested in the works of Dostoevsky, a great Russian writer. 1935 10 he continued to sign up for service and was transferred to the Moroccan colonial infantry regiment stationed in the exons of Provence.

1936- 1937

65438+June18,0936, Jean. Unable to stand by for a long time, he was expelled from the army. In order to avoid being hunted down, he had to wander around, wandering all the way across Europe, which lasted for one year and traveled 855 kilometers. Diary of a Thief is the memory and portrayal of this kind of life.

Genet set out from Nice with fake documents, entered the Italian border under the pseudonym of Gejiedi, came to Brindisi, and then took a boat to prepare for Albania, but was soon deported. He tried to land in Corfu, Greece, but failed. So he sneaked into Yugoslavia, but he was arrested as soon as he arrived in Belgrade, imprisoned for a month, and then escorted to a border village. But later, the police found him in Palermo, Italy, and he was preparing to sneak into Africa. He spent some time in prison, and then he was pushed to Austria. But he was arrested as soon as he arrived in Vienna, so he went to prison and was deported. At the end of 1936, he went to Brno, Czechoslovakia, and was arrested again soon, so he requested political asylum. Under the protection of the human rights association, he lived in the local area for nearly half a year, giving French lessons to the daughter of a German Jewish doctor. The female student's name was anna brock, and she was 34 years old. This is the only opposite sex in his life, but he claims that this is "white love" without sexual relations.

1937 In May, he began to wander again and crossed the Polish border on foot. Arrested in Katowice, Poland, imprisoned 14 days. Later, he passed through Hitler's Germany. He was surprised that Germany was "both a police country and a criminal country". In a country where everyone steals, he steals with a clear conscience. The thief's diary has a unique discussion on this.

Then, after a short stay in Belgium, he returned to Paris, but soon he planned to travel around the world. 1on July 28th, 937, he wrote to anna brock that ... I had to go south, to Algeria, Niger and Congo, and then to America ... "

1937-194/kloc-0 per year

1September 1937 16, he was arrested for the current crime of stealing 12 handkerchiefs from several shops in Samaria, and was sentenced to one month's imprisonment with suspended execution. Three days later, the police found him with a pistol and a stolen ID card. He was arrested again in Paris and sentenced to five months in prison. He wrote to anna brock and said, "Don't come to see my pain in the depths of my cell. This state of penance is of course lonely. Isn't this what Christian saints are pursuing? "

After investigation, it is proved that he is a deserter and may be sentenced to severe punishment, but the conclusion of psychiatric examination is beneficial to him (mental disorder, capriciousness, no moral concept). The authorities allowed him to retire early and only sentenced him to two months in prison. But since then, accidents have happened. 1938, 10 was released in May and was arrested and imprisoned for two months for stealing four appetizers. 1939 65438+ 10 was released in October, and was arrested on the train in May for using fake tickets and imprisoned for 35 days. Only three days after his release, he was arrested and imprisoned for vagrancy 15 days. After returning to Paris, he was arrested and imprisoned for two months for stealing a shirt and a strange silk from the Louvre store in June+10, 5438. /kloc-released in February 0/7 17, stole a wool crumb in the city hall market two weeks later, and was imprisoned 10 months.

1940 12. He was caught stealing books (history and philosophy books) from Gibel Bookstore in St. Michel Street and was imprisoned for four months.

194 1 1 In February, he was chased by a tailor for stealing a piece of cloth, but he ran into the hands of a bookstore owner. A few days ago, he stole some newly published Proust works from the bookstore. The two cases happened at the same time, and he was sentenced to three months and one day in prison.

1942

This year, although Jean Genet also suffered a lot (spent nine months in prison), it was an important "magical" year in his life, and it was a crucial year for him to change from a little criminal to a great writer.

At the beginning of this year, he began to write The Virgin of Flowers in Sant Prison.

After his release in March, he set up an old book stall on the banks of the Seine River in Paris, selling his stolen books. In April, he was arrested for stealing books, sentenced to eight months' imprisonment and put in Fraine prison. In it, he created a long poem "The Death Penalty" and then printed it at his own expense. After he was released from prison in June, 5438+00, he managed to spread his poetry pamphlet. He is in contact with a little intellectual named Fran? ois Sang Dan. One day, Sang Dan came to Genette's room and found many manuscripts written by Genette, including novels, plays and screenplays. At the end of the year, the novel Our Lady in the Flowers was published.

1943- 1944

1February, 943, Jean Guine's luck changed. He met Jean Cocqueteaux, a famous poet, novelist and playwright at that time, through the introduction of two enthusiastic customers in the bookstore. After reading the Virgin of Flowers, the great writer was disgusted with the vulgar content of the novel at first, but immediately found the important literary value of the novel, that is, tried to publish the book. On March 1 day, Genet signed his first publishing contract with Paul Morian, the secretary of Cocteau, while he was writing his second novel, The Miracle of the Rose.

In May, he was arrested again for stealing an out-of-print book. As a recidivist, he is likely to be sentenced to life in exile. Cocteau hired a lawyer to defend him. On the day of the trial, Genet was sentenced to three months in prison just because of the appearance of "the greatest writer of our time".

On September 24th, less than three weeks after Nene was released, he was caught stealing books and spent four months in prison. At this time, The Virgin of Flowers was published in secret and was being bound.

In February 65438, he received a visit from a young publisher named Mark Barba Za in Sant Prison. Soon, Barba Za became the main publisher of Genet's works.

1944 65438+ 10 month, the situation went downhill. Instead of being released, he was transferred to a labor camp in Tourel as a vagrant, ready to be sent to a concentration camp controlled by the French security forces at that time. At this critical juncture, Cocteau once again used his various contacts to bail Nene. However, the sentence of life exile has not been lifted.

1944- 1948

1In April, 944, Mark Barba published a fragment of "The Virgin of Flowers" in China magazine, which was the first time that Jayne published his works publicly and left a deep impression on readers. In May, in Flower Cafe, Jean Genet met the great writer Sartre.

1On August 9th, 944, Jean Decain, one of his closest friends and a young French resistance fighter, died in the battle to liberate Paris, and he began to write the novel "A Grand Funeral for the Martyrs".

1March, 945, "Grand Funeral" was released, which was put into "Brest Debate". The Secret Song of Poetry was published in Gui, and The Miracle of the Rose was also published in our society the following year.

From 65438 to 0946, Genet began to write autobiographical novels, Diary of a Thief and a collection of poems, The Caught Fisherman. He rewrote his old play "Strict Observation" and devoted himself to the writing of "The Girl". On April 9th, 1947, "The Maid" was staged in the Artne Theatre. In July, two plays were published in magazines and won the Seven Star Poetry Club Award. The collection of poems "Hard Labor" was published. 165438+ 10 The Grand Funeral was published in Galima Publishing House without signature. 65438+February, the Battle of Brest (Cocqueteaux

Illustration) was published in secret by Paul Morian.

On May 3rd, Kloc-0/65438, the ballet "The Mirror of Adam" was staged. Crossbow magazine published Jean Genet's poems. He also began to write the play Glory, but he was not allowed to go on stage before he died. He wrote a radio draft "Criminal Children", but it was banned.

1in the autumn of 948, Abel Sheila, a Swiss publisher, secretly published the novel Diary of a Thief, which was also published by Galima Publishing House a few months later. According to the criminal law, Jean Genet must continue to serve his sentence. The "all-Paris literary circle" headed by Sartre and Cocteau called on the president to pardon the punishment of Genet, which made Genet's reputation rise.

1949- 1954

Jean Genet's literary achievements began to be valued and recognized by literary critics.

1February, 949, the drama "Strict Surveillance" was staged in Mathurin Theatre, and francois Mauriac, a famous French novelist and critic, began to pay attention to the "Jean-Genet phenomenon". Galima Press stepped up the publication of the complete works of Jean Genet.

On August 1949, 12, the French President issued an amnesty order, exempting jean jeunet from the penalty of life exile. However, this writer fell into an inexplicable spiritual crisis and was almost silent for five or six years. His creative source comes from a dark cage. Once out of the cage, he will feel lost. He later said to a reporter, "I am free, but I am lost."

From 65438 to 0949, Diary of a Thief was officially published by Kalima Publishing House.

1952, the literary master Sartre paved the way for the publication of The Complete Works of Genet and wrote a long preface for The Comedian and Martyr Saint Genet, which immediately made Jean Genet famous all over the world. Psychologically, there is pressure of "being famous and being a deputy is really difficult". He said to Cork, "You and Sartre painted a portrait for me, but I'm actually another person. This man has something to say. "

During this period, accompanied by his good friend Zawa, Genet traveled around and visited Italy, Germany, Algeria and Morocco. At this time, he has a soft spot for movies. 1950 directed the short film Song of Love. He also wrote two screenplays: Forbidden Dreams and Prisoner's Prison.

1955-196/kloc-0 per year

From 1955, the writer regained his creative vitality. He looked for a way out of the crisis from his drama creation. Three plays were published one after another, which made him the best among modernist playwrights.

/kloc-in the spring of 0/955, he had finished some manuscripts of the play Balcony and started writing the play Black Slave.

In February 65438, he made up another short play "She", but "forgot" it in the drawer of the publishing house and began to write "Screen". If the inspiration for three plays of Genet comes quickly, it is extremely difficult to revise them. Balcony and screen are four drafts, which are rewritten three times by slaves. Each reprint should be revised according to the performance effect and comments from all sides, and the art is improving.

1957 balcony staged in London.

From the end of 1957, Genet stopped living in Paris and began to travel abroad, leaving his footprints in Holland, Sweden, Corsica, Turkey and Greece. 1958, published by slaves. In Amsterdam, while seriously revising the screenplay, he brewed a series of seven books, Death. In June+10, 5438, The Black Slave was successfully staged at the Rudes Theatre.

1960, Balcony was finally put on the French stage.

196 1 year-1967

196 1 February, Screen was published in Crossbow. At this time, he was 50 years old and was at the peak of his honor. His books have been translated and introduced all over the world, and his plays have been staged all over the world, which is all the rage. He reformed the prison where he used to hold criminals.

1966 April 16, "The Screen" was staged at the famous Odeon Theatre in Paris, causing a sensation and a storm.

1967- 1972

1967,1On February 22nd, 967, he started his "rebirth" journey in the Far East, stopping in Japan and passing through India, Pakistan, Thailand and China.

1968 In May, a student rebellion broke out in Paris. He immediately rushed back to France from Morocco to support the student parade, but refused to speak at the conference.

In August of the same year, at the invitation of an American magazine, he went to the United States to participate in demonstrations against the Vietnam War.

1969165438+1October, he went to Japan again to participate in the Japanese railway staff parade.

He expressed deep concern about the living conditions of foreign immigrants in France, and stood with writers such as Sartre and Duras to participate in demonstrations of foreign immigrants.

1970 From March 1 to May 2, he supported the "Panther Movement" in the United States, gave speeches at various universities, published articles and statements to the news media, and called for the release of American black movement leaders.

1October 20th, 1970, 10. At the suggestion of a Palestinian leader, Jean Jeanette visited Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan. He was supposed to stay for a week, but he stayed there for half a year. At the beginning of February 65438, he met with Arafat in secret, got a pass and promised to testify for the Palestinian people.

When he was passing through Paris on 197 1, he wrote a book about the black warrior George Jackson with a group of writers, and then wrote a book about Palestine.

In the following two years, he came to Jordan three times. However, in February1972 65438+,he was expelled from Jordan as an "instigator".

1973- 198 1 year

Because the United States refused to apply for an entry visa to Jean Genet, Jordan prohibited him from entering the country, so he had to stay in France to compile a book about Palestinians and African Americans, but the progress was very slow, and it took 65,438+00 years to complete the book.

1974, jacques derrida published a book named "The Bell Tolls", which made a systematic comment on Jean Genet's works, and this book was recognized by critics. This year, Genet published articles of sympathy and support for the struggle of foreign immigrants in newspapers such as Humane, and went to Morocco, Turkey and Greece again.

From 1976 to 1978, he spent a lot of energy on film creation, but he gave up halfway.

1977, he wrote a preface for a book written by members of the German terrorist organization "Red Army Brigade", which was published on the front page of Le Monde, causing strong social dissatisfaction. Later, he had to be silent for two years.

From 65438 to 0979, because of the hospitalization of laryngeal cancer, the body obviously began to weaken.

1982

Jene moved to Morocco from March 1982.

In September of the same year, he accompanied a young Palestinian woman back to the Middle East. On the second day of his arrival in Beirut, he happened to meet the Israeli army invading the Lebanese capital. They witnessed the atrocities committed by the Israeli army in the bloody cleansing of Palestinian refugee camps. 19, Jean Genet was the first European witness to enter the Palestinian refugee camp in Shatila, where bodies were everywhere. Surprised, he rushed back to Paris and published an important political article: Four Hours in Chatilla.

1983- 1986

1In July, 983, Genet wrote his last book, Prisoner in Love, day and night according to his notes and drafts written over the years, because he knew that his condition began to deteriorate.

198365438+February, Jean-Genet won the French Literature Prize.

1July, 984, he returned to Jordan again to visit people and places he was familiar with.

1In August, 985, he revised the earliest script "Close Watch".

1985 65438+In February, a prisoner in love was released.

1986 16 at midnight on April 4th, Jean Genet died at the age of 76, and was buried in the old cemetery in the Spanish city of laroche on the northern Moroccan coast.

1986 In May, Prisoner in Love was published by Kalima Publishing House. People can read such an intriguing sentence from the book: "The life I can see is just a well-disguised trap."