Paul Morand
Paul Morand (1888-1976) was a prominent French diplomat, novelist, playwright, and poet, known for his contributions to early Modernist literature. Born in Paris to a culturally engaged family, he was exposed to influential figures in the arts from a young age, shaping his literary sensibilities. Although he initially pursued a career in the military, his poor mathematical skills led him to join the diplomatic service in 1912, where his extensive travels and experiences informed much of his writing.
Morand's literary career began post-World War I, with publications such as "Lampes à arc" and "Feuilles de température," which reflected on the war's impact on Europe. He gained significant recognition with works like "Ouvert la nuit," exploring moral themes through the lives of women during the war. His marriage to Romanian princess Helene Soutzo allowed him to travel further and inspire his writing, resulting in major works like "Le Chronique du XXe siècle."
During World War II, Morand's affiliation with the Vichy government led to his exile after the war. He returned to France in 1953 and was later elected to the French Academy in 1968. Morand's last significant work was his autobiography, "Venises." His life and works reflect a complex interplay of cultural, historical, and personal narratives.
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Paul Morand
Diplomat
- Born: March 13, 1888
- Birthplace: Paris, France
- Died: July 24, 1976
- Place of death: Paris, France
Biography
Paul Morand was born on March 13, 1888, in Paris, France. His father, Eugene Morand, was a painter and playwright who served as a curator at the Louvre and later as director of the École des Arts Decoratifs; his mother was Marie Louise Charrier Morand. Because of his father’s work, Morand from an early age was brought into contact with Parisian cultural life, and he met such leading lights of the era as Auguste Rodin, Stephane Mallarme, Sarah Bernhardt, Oscar Wilde, and Frank Harris. As a result, he became something of a snob.
Not a particularly good student and more interested in sports and cars than education, Morand attended the Lycée Carnot, the Faculty of Law at the University of Paris, and spent a year at Oxford University in 1908. He needed private lessons to meet the requirements for graduation from the Paris Institute of Political Studies and was tutored by writer Jean Girardoux, with whom he formed a lifelong friendship. Initially, Morand intended to become a naval officer, but his mathematical skills, necessary for navigation, were so poor that he changed his career aspirations. He joined the diplomatic service in 1912.
As a diplomat, Morand traveled widely and his experiences greatly influenced his worldview. After the beginning of World War I, he was posted as an attaché successively in London, Paris, Rome, and Madrid. In Paris, he became acquainted and eventually friends with writers Marcel Proust and Jean Cocteau.
Considered an early Modernist, Morand began writing soon after the end of the war, and in 1920 he published two books of short prose poems that explored the effects of the war on Europe, Lampes a arc and Feuilles de temperature. Tendres stocks (1921; Green Shoots, 1923), a collection of short stories, examined the lives of three women living in London during the war, focusing on morality and the relations between men and women. His next book, Ouvert la nuit (1922; Open All Night, 1923), was another short- story collection that concentrated on the lives of women to show Europe’s moral and spiritual collapse; the book was a major success and went through multiple printings. Ferme la nuit (1923; Closed All Night, 1924) dealt with the same themes told from the point of view of four men. In 1924, Morand published both a collection of poetry, Poems, 1914-1924, and a novel, Lewis et Irene (1924; Lewis and Irene, 1925), before he became head of the Bangkok delegation of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He used the post as an opportunity to travel the world and wrote of his experiences in Rien que la terre (1926; Earth Girdled, 1926).
In 1927, Morand married Romanian princess Helene Soutzo. Together they journeyed to French West Africa, the West Indies, the Middle East, and South and North America. Their journeys, recounted in journals, stories, and novels, comprised his major work, Le Chronique du XXe siècle, published in four volumes from 1925 through 1930. His travels also served as the basis for numerous novels and nonfiction works, including Le Voyage; U.S.A.; Paris-Tombouctou; New- York; Air indien (1932; Indian Air, 1933); Londres (1933; A Frenchman’s London, 1934); and Bucarest.
After France was occupied by the Nazis during World War II, Morand served with the newly created Vichy government as a film censor and later as an ambassador in Bucharest, Romania, and Bern, Switzerland. Following the French liberation, Morand was exiled from France for collaborating with the Nazis, and he lived in Spain, Tanger, and Switzerland, where he wrote several biographies. Readmitted to France in 1953, he was elected to the French Academy in 1968. His last important work was an autobiography, Venises. Morand died on July 23, 1976.