Who is Jean-Marie LeClezio?

French writer Jean-Marie LeClezio has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. LeClezio is a terrific writer whose work studies humanity from the points of view of people of many cultures. You may have heard the recent controversy sparked by a Nobel spokesman who made disparaging remarks about American literature. He said that U.S. writers are too insular and that American literature in general is too little interested in the world outside of us and our culture. Moreover, he said, American writers aren't very daring about trying new forms. They write very conventional novels. The gentleman's comments are unfortunate. Obviously, there are great contemporary American writers. The Nobel committee shouldn't exclude Americans just because they're Americans.

I hope this controversy won't take away from LeClezio's own merit. He is a really good writer. He has lived in a number of different countries and writes about people from a variety of backgrounds with great sympathy and thoughtfulness. For European or western readers, he often adopts a point of view that shows how "we" look to " them," without being ideological about it. He's also called " unclassifiable." Is he French? Well, sort of, but he lives in New Mexico, and in Nice, and in Mauritius, where his family came from originally. While he was doing his French military service in Thailand--France used to let draftees opt to perform their military service in another country instead of France, a practice that was dropped when a) potential conflicts between France and Algeria became possible and b) France abandoned the draft--he became really interested in Native Americans. His writings on Mexico have become important in college courses about Mexico. His literary influences include French writers, but also Americans. Yes, he writes in French. He is, however, a nontraditional, or non establishment writer in France.

Here's an excerpt from a 2001 interview:
" Your work is described as mystical, philosophical and even ecological! Do you recognize yourself in these descriptions? J.-M. G. Le Clézio: It is difficult to describe what you do yourself. If I had to assess my books I would say that they are what are most like me. In other words, for me it’s less a matter of expressing ideas than expressing what I am and what I believe in. When I write I am primarily trying to translate my relationship to the everyday, to events. We live in a troubled era in which we are bombarded by a chaos of ideas and images. The role of literature today is perhaps to echo this chaos. "

So France may be proud today because a Frenchman has won the Nobel, but LeClezio is anything but a typical Frenchman, and his writing is very international and often nontraditional in form.

Stanley Péan, a Québecois born in Haiti, said on Radio-Canada this afternooon that LeClezio's best quality is the purity of his style, nourished by a language that crosses borders. For sure, the Nobel committee picked someone who is not insular. I hope LeClezio's fitting the profile won't count against him. He is good on his own merits.

Stanley Péan's comments http://www.radio-canada.ca/audio-video/index.shtml#urlMedia=http://www.radio-canada.ca/Medianet/2008/RDI2/RDIEnDirectMatin200810090730_1.asx&pos=0



http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/france_159/label-france_2554/label-france-issues_2555/label-france-no.-45_3724/literature_3732/interview-with-jean-marie-clezio_5092.html 2005 article in English from French Foreign Ministry website


New York Times article on LeClezio's Prix Nobel http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/10/books/10nobel.html?hp