The Pennsylvania State University, Special
Collections Department, Rare Books and Manuscripts
Biography:
Yves Henri Michel Navarre, French novelist and
playwright, was born 24 September 1940 in Condom, Gascony, France.
He earned degrees in Spanish, English, and modern literature from
the Universite de Lille III in 1961 and 1964 and attended Ecole
des Hautes Etudes Commerciales du Nord in 1964. Navarre died of an
overdose of barbiturates in Paris, France, on 24 January 1994.
He began submitting manuscripts for publication
in 1958 and his first novel, Lady Black, was published in
1971, followed by Évolène (1972), Les Loukoums
(1973), and others each year through 1984 when he suffered a
stroke. He resumed publishing in 1986 until 1991. Navarre received
France's top literary award, the Concourt Prize in 1980 for Le
Jardin d'Acclimatation (The Zoological Garden) and in 1992 the
Académie Française Prize for the body of his work.
Navarre is noted for "his treatment of
mature themes, including homosexual relations, spiritual
imprisonment, and the mystical qualities of love. His approach to
such topics is formal rather than sensationalized." He told Contemporary
Authors that his "novel Biographie is the key to
all my other novels and plays."
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