Pierre Fournier (13 March 1916 – 20 February 1997), better known hispen namePierre Gascar, was a French journalist, literary critic, writer, essayist and screenwriter.
Born in Paris in 1916 to a working-class family, Pierre Gascar lived part of his childhood inPérigord after his mother was institutionalised. His troubled childhood would later inspire him to writeLa Graine andMeilleur de la Vie. Returning to Paris after completing high school, he became involved in left wing politics and began to associate with writers. His imprisonment in a Germanstalag during the Second World War heavily influenced his writing during that period. InLe temps des Morts, Gascar recounts his time spent working as a gravedigger at theRava-Ruska prison camp inUkraine, during which time he was conscripted to track downJews hiding in the area.
Gascar became a journalist after the end of the war. In 1953, after winning thePrix Goncourt forLes Bêtes andLe temps des morts, he decided to devote himself entirely to his literary work. His writing, characterised by an exploration of the relationship between plants, animals and people, began to gain greater appreciation from the general public. He started to write biographies, focusing on personalities in which he recognised parts of himself, such as his thirst for knowledge, his independence and his feelings of restlessness. Among the figures he wrote about were Humboldt, Buffon and Bernard Palissy. Aside from his biographical work, he took to writing studies of nature, taking a poetic and philosophical approach. Major works of this kind includeLe présage,Les sources andLe règne végétal.
The screenplay ofGeorges Franju's filmLes Yeux sans visage (1960) was in large part written by Gascar. Other works include plays, notablyLes pas perdus, picture books and prefaces.
After winning theGrand Prix of theAcadémie Française, he won thePrix Roger Caillois in 1994. Gascar sharedCaillois' fascination with the natural world, while however retaining a firm focus on its relationship with human society.
He died in 1997. The majority of his works were published byÉditions Gallimard.
André Bernold, "Pierre Gascar. Le silence de la résorption", inLa Nouvelle revue Française, n°539, December 1997 (reprinted inSoies brisées, Paris, Editions Hermann, 1999, pp. 123–130).
EddY Vannerom, "De la steppe au jardin, le végétal dans l'œuvre de Pierre Gascar", inrevue MaYak, n°2, Flobecq, Belgique, Autumn 2007.
