Savitzkaya, Eugène 1955–

PERSONAL: Born 1955, in Liège (one source says Saint-Nicolas), Belgium; children: one son.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Mail, Quale Press, 93 Main St., Ste. 2, Florence, MA 01062.

CAREER: Poet and novelist.

WRITINGS:

Le coeur de schiste, Atelier de l'Agneau (Liège, Belgium), 1974.

Mongolie, plaine sale (also see below), Seghers (Paris, France), 1974.

Rue obscure (also see below), Atelier de l'Agneau (Liège, Belgium), 1975.

L'Empire (also see below), Atelier de l'Agneau (Liège, Belgium), 1976.

Mentir (novel), Éditions de Minuit (Paris, France), 1977.

Un jeune homme trop gors, Éditions de Minuit (Paris, France), 1978.

La traversée de l'Afrique, Éditions de Minuit (Paris, France), 1979.

Les couleurs de boucheries (poetry), C. Bourgois (Paris, France), 1980.

La disparition de maman (novel), Éditions de Minuit (Paris, France), 1982.

Les morts sentent bon (novel), Éditions de Minuit (Paris, France), 1983.

Veulerie, Le Verbe et l'Empreinte (Saint Laurent-du-Pont, France), 1984.

Quatorze cataclysmes, Le Temps Qu'il Fait (Cognac, France), 1985.

Bufo, bufo, bufo (poetry), Éditions de Minuit (Paris, France), 1986.

Capolican: un secret de fabrication, Arcane 17 (Saint-Nazaire, France), 1987.

Sang de chien (novel), Éditions de Minuit (Paris, France), 1988.

La folie originelle, Éditions de Minuit (Paris, France), 1991.

Marin mon coeur (novel), Éditions de Minuit (Paris, France), 1992.

(With Alain le Bras and Philippe Bordes) Alain le Bras, Association des Amis d'Alain le Bras (Nantes, France), 1993.

Mongolie, plaine sale; L'empire; Rue obscure, preface by Mathieu Lindon, commentary by Carmelo Virone, Labor (Brussels, Belgium), 1993.

En vie (novel), Éditions de Minuit (Paris, France), 1994.

Jérôme Bosch et Eugène Savitzkaya (catalog), Flohic (Paris, France), 1994.

(With Jean-Dominique Burton) Ecorces: Jean-Dominique Burton, Éditions de l'Octogone (Brussels, Belgium), 1994.

Cochon farci, Éditions de Minuit (Paris, France), 1996.

(With Jacques Izoard) Ketelslegers (includes "Code des mandarins" by Savitzkaya), illustrated by Robert Ketelslegers, Labor (Brussels, Belgium), 1997.

Cénotaphe: poèmes inédits-1973, Atelier de l'Agneau (Liège, Belgium), 1998.

Mamouze, Atelier de l'Agneau (Liège, Belgium), 1998.

Saperlotte!, Flohic (Paris, France), 1998.

Fou civil, Flohic (Paris, France), 1999.

Célébration d'un mariage improbable et illimité, Éditions de Minuit (Paris, France), 2002.

Exquise Louise (novel), Éditions de Minuit (Paris, France), 2003.

Rules of Solitude (poems; in English and French), English translations by Gian Lombardo, Quale Press (Florence, MA), 2004.

SIDELIGHTS: Comparing Belgian writer Eugène Savitzkaya to such contemporary French autobiographical authors as Patrick Drevet, Pierre Michon, and Pierre Bergounioux, Times Literary Supplement reviewer Jeremy Alden commented that Savitzkaya uses unconventional plots and themes in his prose works such as En vie and Marin mon coeur. Savitzkaya is not "fundamentally concerned with character or family relationships" in his books; rather, the critic observed that the author "is someone who scrutinizes organic life, ever aware of its continuing decay. Apprehending the world … means distinguishing one leaf from countless others." While Savitzkaya ultimately suggests that life offers little that is "spiritual," noted Alden, the author also "immerses us in the pleasure we can derive from the Earth and from our houses," posing the question, "Can we honestly hope … for anything beyond the mere satisfaction of our primary appetites?"

In addition to his prose writings, Savitzkaya has written poetry collections. In 2004, his first bilingual French/English edition of verse, Rules of Solitude, was released. Noting that Savitzkaya uses deceptively simple and sparse language in his poems, NewPages.com reviewer Deborah Diemont remarked that he "writes about nothing less complicated than the soul." She added, "These poems blend concrete and abstract in such a way that we never 'get' them, but must approach them again and again like paintings."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Express International, March 16, 1995, André Clavel, review of En vie, p. 64.

Times Literary Supplement, October 6, 1995, Jeremy Alden, "Wear and Tear," review of En vie, p. 27.

ONLINE

NewPages.com, http://www.newpages.com/ (May 10, 2005), Deborah Diemont, review of Rules of Solitude.