Boris Vian
Boris Vian was a multifaceted French artist born on March 10, 1920, in Ville-d'Avray, near Paris. He was the second of four children and faced health challenges from an early age due to rheumatic fever, which led to lifelong cardiac issues. Vian cultivated a strong passion for jazz, becoming an influential figure in the genre shortly after World War II, where he worked as a jazz record director and played the trumpet. Besides his musical endeavors, he gained recognition as a novelist and playwright, known for his sharp wit and satirical style. Vian often wrote under the pseudonym Vernon Sullivan, creating parodies of detective fiction that commented on societal issues. His works, particularly during the 1950s, touched on themes of social protest and antiwar sentiment. Despite his popularity, Vian's literary deception regarding Sullivan initially drew criticism from the literary community after he revealed his true identity. He married Ursula Kubler in 1954, but his health deteriorated, leading to his untimely death from a heart attack in 1959 at the age of 39. Vian's legacy endures through his contributions to literature and music, reflecting a unique blend of humor and social commentary.
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Boris Vian
Fiction Writer
- Born: March 10, 1920
- Birthplace: Ville d'Avray, France
- Died: June 23, 1959
- Place of death: Cinema Marbeuf, Paris, France
Biography
Boris Vian was born on March 10, 1920, in the Parisian suburb of Ville-d’Avray. He was the second of the four children of Georges and Yvonne Vian. At the age of twelve, he contracted rheumatic fever and this illness eventually caused cardiac problems from which he suffered throughout his relatively short life.
Vian studied at high schools in Versailles and Paris and developed a serious interest in jazz. Shortly after the liberation of Paris in 1944, he began writing jazz reviews and eventually became the director of jazz records for the Phillips company. He earned his living by playing trumpet in jazz bands, writing articles on jazz, translating, and writing.
Vian had a solid command of English and translated numerous detective novels from English into French. He wrote parodies of American-style detective novels under the pseudonym of Vernon Sullivan, experimental plays, and a series of extremely witty and satiric novels. During the 1950’s, he became especially popular for his social protest and antiwar songs.
Vian had a wicked sense of humor. He pretended that Sullivan was an African American writer who could not get his books published in the United States because of racism. Vian even produced English versions of his Vernon Sullivan novels. Many French critics viewed Sullivan as an unjustly neglected American novelist. These same critics were very harsh in their comments on Vian’s own novels. When he revealed to the public the nature of this deception, numerous critics reacted very negatively because he had made fools of them.
Vian married Ursula Kubler in 1954, but his heart problems became progressively worse. He died of a heart attack in a Parisian movie theater on June 23, 1959, at the age of thirty- nine.