Conrad, Patrick 1945–

PERSONAL: Born 1945, in Wilrijk, Belgium; married.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Mail, Uitgeverij Houtekiet, Vrijheidstraat 33, B-2000, Antwerp, Belgium.

CAREER: Film director, actor, and writer. Director of movies, including Les wagons verts-réséda, 1967, Slijk, 1972, Slachtvee, 1979, Ieder mens die sterft is een museum dat brandt, 1982, Parlez-moi d'amour, 1983, L'agenda d'Agenor, 1983, Permeke, 1985, and Mascara, 1987. Actor in films, including Un soir, un train, 1968, Een Vrouw tussen hond en wolf, 1979, Maria Danneels (of het leven dat we droomden, 1982, Na de liefde, 1983, and Hector, 1987.

WRITINGS:

Met Sappho on de sofa: Gedichten 1968–69 (poems), Uitgeverij de Galge (Antwerp, Belgium), 1970.

De kleine dood van Kasper Q: een lang kortverhaal, Uitgeverij de Galge (Brugge, Belgium), 1971.

Eleven Sad Songs for Edward Kienholz 1970–1971, Paris-Manteau (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 1971.

Allegria! Allegria!, Paris-Manteau (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 1972.

Hugues C. Pernath, Nederlandsche Boekhandel (Antwerp, Belgium), 1976.

Rose mon chameau: een oorlogsverhaal, Arbeiderspers (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 1976.

Slachtvee (screenplay), Pierre Films, 1979.

De vernieling: Gedichten 1973–1983 (poems), Manteau (Antwerp, Belgium), 1985.

Mascara (screenplay), Iblis Films, 1987.

De tranen van Mary Pickford, Houtekiet (Antwerp, Belgium), 1991.

Ba! (novel), Houtekiet (Antwerp, Belgium), 1993.

Bloemlezing uit de poëzie van Patrick Conrad (poems), edited by Daan Carstens, Poëziecentrum (Ghent, Belgium), 1995.

Louisiana: misdaadroman (novel), Houtekiet (Antwerp, Belgium), 1996.

Luwte, Houtekiet (Antwerp, Belgium), 1998.

Good Morning, Hoboken, Houtekiet (Antwerp, Belgium), 1999.

Cargo (fiction), Houtekiet (Antwerp, Belgium)/Signature (Baarn, Netherlands), 2000.

SIDELIGHTS: Beginning his career as a poet, Belgian author Patrick Conrad turned to acting in and directing motion pictures during the 1970s and 1980s. Noted for creating very personal films, Conrad is especially known for directing 1985's Permeke, which is about the expressionist artist of the title; and for directing and writing the screenplay for 1987's Mascara, a quirky film about a police commissioner whose night-life includes spending time in gay and transvestite bars. More recently, though, Conrad has turned back to literature and has produced several novels. Among these is Ba!, an experimental work that combines a wide variety of genres, including diary entries, essays, and fiction, to create a portrait of the author. "Conrad wants his own life to be considered a movie script," commented Ludo Stynen in World Literature Today, "and in a way he undoubtedly achieves that goal. This, and the impurity of form and contents, transforms the diary Ba! into a fine novel as well."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Variety, May 20, 1987, review of Mascara, p. 45.

World Literature Today, spring, 1994, Ludo Stynen, review of Ba!, p. 379.