Bernard Comment

Bernard Comment (born 20 April 1960) is a Swiss writer, translator, scriptwriter, and publisher of books.

Early life

Bernard Comment was born in Porrentruy, Switzerland, on 20 April 1960. He is a son of the artist Jean-François Comment.[1] His elder brother Gerard is the proprietor of a record store Collector Shop in his hometown.[2]

Education

Comment studied Literature at the University of Geneva under Jean Starobinski[3] and at the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences in Paris under Roland Barthes.[1]

Career

Comment moved to Tuscany, where for four years he taught at the University of Pisa. He worked as a sports journalist, before moving to Paris to join as a research fellow at the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences.

Literary

He published his first novel L'ombre de mémoire[4] in 1990. Between 1993 and 1994, he was awarded a residential fellowship at the Villa Médicis, which inspired a tract against this kind of State-supported grants.

Comment has translated several books of Antonio Tabucchi into French.

In 2005, he succeeded Denis Roche as director at Fiction & Cie,[5] and was appointed president of the Commission of the Novel at the Centre national du livre, which he held till 2008.[6]

In 2010, with Stanley Buchthal, he edited Fragments, a collection of intimate writings, poems and letters of Marilyn Monroe.[7]

Film and broadcasting

Along with Alain Tanner, he co-wrote the screenplays for the films Fourbi (1996), Requiem (1998), Jonas et Lila, Til Tomorrow (1999), Paul s'en va (2004). He also created with Bertrand Theubet, Le pied dans la fourmilière (1998) based on one of his novels.[1]

He was a member of the international jury at the Locarno International Film Festival (1996) and Fribourg International Film Festival (1998).[1]

In 1999, he was appointed as director of fiction at France Culture.

Other

In the 1980s, Comment was a secretary of the Swiss Association of Football Players.[8]

From October 2011, he has been an advisor of programming at Arte.[9]

Awards and honours
  • 1990: Prix Lipp Suisse for L'ombre de mémoire[10]
  • 1990: Prix de la République et Canton du Jura[3]
  • 1993: Prix Antigone for Allées et venues
  • 1995: Award of Distinction of the Commission of French literature of the canton of Bern
  • 2005: Award of the Canton of Bern for Un Poisson hors de l'eau[11]
  • 2010: Ordre des Arts et des Lettres[12]
  • 2011: Prix Goncourt de la Nouvelle for Tout passe[13]

Bibliography

Novels
  • L'Ombre de mémoire, éditions Christian Bourgois, 1990 & Folio, 1999 (English: The Shadow of Memory[14])
  • Allées et venues, éditions Christian Bourgois, 1992
  • Florence, retours, éditions Christian Bourgois, 1994 & Éditions Gallimard|Folio, 2000
  • Le Colloque des bustes, éditions Christian Bourgois, 2000 & Éditions Gallimard|Folio, 2002
  • Un Poisson hors de l'eau, Éditions du Seuil, 2004 & Éditions Points, 2007
  • Triptyque de l'ongle, Joca Seria, 2008

Collections
  • Roland Barthes, vers le Neutre, éditions Christian Bourgois, 1991
  • Le XIXe siècle des panoramas, Adam Biro, 1993
  • Les fourmis de la gare de Berne, Editions Zoe, 1996
  • L'Ongle noir, Éditions Mille et une nuits, 1997
  • Éclats cubains, with photographs by Jean-Luc Cramatte, Verticales/Grimoux, 1998
  • Die Frauen der Antike, with Anselm Kiefer, éditions Yvon Lambert, 1999.
  • The Panorama, Reaktion Books (London) and Abrams (New York).
  • Même les oiseaux, éditions Christian Bourgois, 1998 & J'ai lu, 2000
  • Doucet de fonds en combles, trésors d'une bibliothèque d'art, Herscher, 2004
  • Entre deux, une enfance en Ajoie, Biro Editeur, 2007
  • Comment, Bernard (2011). Tout passes. Christian Bourgois.

List of stories
Title Year First published Reprinted/collected Notes
A failure
  • Comment, Bernard (2011). Tout passes. Christian Bourgois.
  • Comment, Bernard (Autumn 2014). Translated by Carolyne Lee. "A failure". Meanjin. 73 (1): 169–172.

As editor
  • Comment, Bernard; Stanley Buchtal (eds.). Fragments : poems, intimate notes, letters by Marilyn Monroe.

Translations
  • Rêves de rêves, by Antonio Tabucchi. (1994)
  • Récits complets : Le Jeu de l'envers – Petits malentendus sans importance – L'Ange noir, by Antonio Tabucchi. (1995)
  • Il se fait tard de plus en plus tard, by Antonio Tabucchi. (2002)

References
  1. Emma Chatelain; Philippe Hebeisen (10 October 2005). "Comment, Bernard (1960–)". Dictionnaire du Jura (in French). Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  2. Blaise Calame (April 26, 2011). "BERNARD COMMENT: "MON MONDE SE DÉPLOIE DEPUIS PORRENTRUY"". L'illustré. Archived from the original on January 8, 2014. Retrieved November 12, 2012.
  3. Michel Audétat (22 September 1994). "L'écrivain suisse de la villa Médicis". L'Hebdo (in French). Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  4. L'ombre de mémoire (in French). Christian Bourgois. 1990. ISBN 978-2267008784.
  5. "Bernard Comment Petits changements, grande continuité". Premiere (in French). 7 May 2008. Archived from the original on 17 February 2013. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  6. "François Taillandier, nouveau président de la commission roman au CNL". Centre national du livre. 29 May 2008. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  7. Monroe, Marilyn (2010). Comment, Bernard; Buchthal, Stanley (eds.). Fragments. Poèmes, écrits intimes, lettres (in French). Translated by Tiphaine Samoyault. Le Seuil. ISBN 978-2021023282.
  8. Raphaëlle Rérolle (13 May 2011). "Bernard Comment: secrets de famille". Le Monde des Livres. p. 4.
  9. Marie-José Sirach (17 October 2012). "Passage en force à la tête de la Maison de la poésie". L'Humanité (in French). Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  10. "Lauréats du Prix LIPP Suisse". Brasserie Lipp. Archived from the original on December 2, 2008. Retrieved November 12, 2012.
  11. "Prix de la Commission de littérature de langue française du canton de Berne: Les diverses facettes de la vie littéraire romande à l'honneur". Canton de Berne (in French). 23 September 2005. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  12. "Nomination ou promotion dans l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres, Janvier 2010". Le Ministere (in French). Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  13. "Bernard Comment, Goncourt de la nouvelle 2011". L'Express (in French). 3 May 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  14. The Shadow of Memory. (trans.) Betsy Wing. Dalkey Archive Press. 2012. ISBN 978-1564788436.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
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