Marguerite Duras
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She was born in Saigon, French Indochina (now Vietnam), and went to France, her parents' native country, to study law, but became a writer instead. She changed her name in 1943 for Duras, the name of a village in the Lot-et-Garonne département, where her father's house was located.
She is the author of a great many novels, plays, films and short narratives, including her best-selling, ostensibly autobiographical work L'Amant (1984), translated into English as The Lover. Following the making of a film of the same name(s) based on her work, Duras then published a slightly different work, L'Amant de la Chine du Nord.
Other major works include Moderato Cantabile, also made into a film of the same name, Le Ravissement de Lol V. Stein, and her film India Song. She was also the screenwriter of the 1959 French film Hiroshima mon amour, which was directed by Alain Resnais.
Duras's early novels were fairly conventional in form (their 'romanticism' was criticised by fellow writer Raymond Queneau); however, with Moderato Cantabile she became more experimental, paring down her texts to give ever-increasing importance to what was not said. She was associated with the Nouveau roman French literary movement. Her films are also experimental in form, most eschewing synch sound, using voice over to allude to, rather than tell, a story over images whose relation to what is said may be more-or-less tangential.
She died at 81 from throat cancer and is interred in the Cimetière du Montparnasse.
In 1997 the popular rock band 'the Weakerthans' took their name from a line of the film adaptation of The Lover: "Go ahead, I'm weaker than you can possibly imagine."
Bibliography
- Les Impudents, Plon, 1943
- La Vie tranquille, Gallimard, 1944.
- Un barrage contre le Pacifique, Gallimard, 1950.
- Le Marin de Gibraltar, Galimard, 1950.
- Des petits chevaux de Tarquinia, Gallimard, 1953.
- Des journées entières dans les arbres, "Le Boa", "Madame Dodin", "Les Chantiers", Gallimard, 1954.
- Le Square, Gallimard, 1955.
- Moderato Cantabile, Les Éditions de Minuit, 1958.
- Les Viaducs de la Seine et Oise, Gallimard, 1959.
- Hiroshima mon amour, Gallimard, 1960.
- L'après-midi de M. Andesmas, Gallimard, 1960.
- Le Ravissement de Lol V. Stein, Gallimard, 1964.
- Théâtre I : les Eaux et Forêts-le Square-La Musica, Gallimard, 1965.
- Le Vice-Consul, Gallimard, 1965.
- L'Amante Anglaise, Gallimard, 1967.
- Théâtre II : Suzanna Andler-Des journées entières dans les arbres-Yes, peut-être-Le Shaga-Un homme est venu me voir, Gallimard, 1968.
- Détruire, dit-elle, Les Éditions de Minuit, 1969.
- Abahn Sabana David, Gallimard, 1970.
- L'Amour, Gallimard, 1971.
- Ah! Ernesto, Hatlin Quist, 1971.
- India Song, Gallimard, 1973.
- Nathalie Granger, suivi de "La Femme du Gange", Gallimard, 1973.
- Le Camion, suivi de "Entretien avec Michelle Porte", Les Éditions de Minuit, 1977.
- L'Eden Cinéma, Mercure de France, 1977.
- Le Navire Night, suivi de Cesarée, les Mains négatives, Aurélia Steiner, Mercure de France, 1979.
- Vera Baxter ou les Plages de l'Atlantique, Albatros, 1980.
- L'Homme assis dans le couloir, Les Éditions de Minuit, 1980.
- L'Été 80, Les Éditions de Minuit, 1980.
- Les Yeux verts, Cahiers du cinéma, n.312-313, juin 1980 et nouvelle édition, 1987.
- Agatha, Les Éditions de Minuit, 1981.
- Outside, Albin Michel, 1981.
- L'Homme atlantique, Les Éditions de Minuit, 1982.
- Savannah Bay, Les Éditions de Minuit, 1982, 2ème edition augmentée1983.
- La Maladie de la mort, Les Éditions de Minuit, 1982.
- Théâtre III : -La Bête dans la jungle, d'après H. James, adaptation de J. Lord et M. Duras,-Les Papiers d'Aspern,d'après H. James, adaptation de M. Duras et R. Antelme,-La Danse de mort, d'après A. Strindberg, adaptation de M. Duras, Gallimard, 1984.
- L'Amant, Les Éditions de Minuit, 1984. Was awarded the 1984 Prix Goncourt.
- La Douleur, POL, 1985.
- La Musica deuxième, Gallimard, 1985.
- Les Yeux bleus Cheveux noirs, Les Éditions de Minuit, 1986.
- La Pute de la côté normande, Les Éditions de Minuit, 1986.
- La Vie matérielle, POL, 1987.
- Emily L., Les Éditions de Minuit, 1987.
- La Pluie d'été, POL, 1990.
- L'Amant de la Chine du Nord, Gallimard, 1991.
- Yann Andréa Steiner, Gallimard, 1992.
Filmography as director
- Les Enfants (1984)
- Il Dialogo di Roma (1982)
- L'Homme atlantique (1981)
- Agatha et les lectures illimitées (1981)
- Aurelia Steiner (Melbourne) (1979)
- Aurélia Steiner (Vancouver) (1979)
- Le Navire Night (1979)
- Cesarée (1978)
- Les Mains négatives (1978)
- Baxter, Vera Baxter (1977)
- Le Camion (1977)
- Des journées entières dans les arbres (1976)
- Son nom de Venise dans Calcutta désert (1976)
- India Song (1975)
- La Femme du Gange (1974)
- Nathalie Granger (1972)
- Jeune le soleil (1972)
- Détruire, dit-elle (1969)
- La Musica (1967)
Further reading
- Leslie Hill Marguerite Duras: Apocalyptic Desires (Routledge, 1993)
- Martin Crowley Duras, Writing, and the Ethical (Oxford University Press, 2000)
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