Clément Lépidis
Clément Lépidis (1920–1997) was a French novelist of Greek descent. He was born Kleanthis Tsélébidis (Greek: Κλεάνθης Τσελεμπίδης) into a Greek Orthodox family that had settled in Paris.
Lépidis spent his childhood and adolescence in the Parisian neighbourhood of Belleville. His father, like many Greek and Armenian refugees, worked in the shoe trade. Clément too tried the shoe trade at one point working with brands, as he later related in his books, such as Ma vie en chantier, L'Arménien and La Main rouge. He tried several other careers, e.g., stockbroker's clerk, photographer, radio wireman, sales representative and cashier. His work experiences inspired the book The Tribulations of a Commercial Traveller. Afterwards, he devoted himself to painting[1] and literature.
Among his friends were the photographer Robert Doisneau, the accordionist Jo Privat, whose biography he wrote, and the wrestler Tasso Miades. Lépidis loved his fellow Parisians. He described their happy and friendly character. He also wrote of the dark side of Paris during the German occupation when many Jews and Armenians, his friends and neighbours from Belleville, were rounded up. These he depicted in the novel The Armenian.
At his death in 1997, he left behind many works of literature, including poetry, short stories and novels. His work was rooted in both the Mediterranean and his own Belleville neighbourhood.
Awards
- La Rose de Büyükada (1963) – winner of the Prix des Deux Magots[2]
- Le Marin de Lesbos (1972) – winner of the Prix du roman populiste
- L'Arménien (1976) – winner of the Prix de l'Académie française [fr] and Prix de la Société des gens de lettres
References
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- 1915 Paul Acker
- 1916 Louis de Blois [fr]
- 1917 Charles Géniaux [fr]
- 1918 Camille Mayran [fr]
- 1919 Pierre Benoit
- 1920 André Corthis
- 1921 Pierre Villetard [fr]
- 1922 Francis Carco
- 1923 Alphonse de Châteaubriant
- 1924 Émile Henriot
- 1925 François Duhourcau
- 1926 François Mauriac
- 1927 Joseph Kessel
- 1928 Jean Balde [fr]
- 1929 André Demaison [fr]
- 1930 Jacques de Lacretelle
- 1931 Henri Pourrat
- 1932 Jacques Chardonne
- 1933 Roger Chauviré
- 1934 Paule Régnier
- 1935 Albert Touchard
- 1936 Georges Bernanos
- 1937 Guy de Pourtalès
- 1938 Jean de La Varende
- 1939 Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
- 1940 Édouard Peisson [fr]
- 1941 Robert Bourget-Pailleron
- 1942 Jean Blanzat
- 1943 Joseph-Henri Louwyck [fr]
- 1944 Pierre Lagarde [fr]
- 1945 Marc Blancpain [fr]
- 1946 Jean Orieux [fr]
- 1947 Philippe Hériat
- 1948 Yves Gandon [fr]
- 1949 Yvonne Pagniez
- 1950 Joseph Jolinon
- 1951 Bernard Barbey [fr]
- 1952 Henri Castillou [fr]
- 1953 Jean Hougron
- 1954 Pierre Moinot / Paul Mousset [fr]
- 1955 Michel de Saint Pierre [fr]
- 1956 Paul Guth
- 1957 Jacques de Bourbon Busset
- 1958 Henri Queffélec
- 1959 Gabriel d'Aubarède
- 1960 Christian Murciaux [fr]
- 1961 Phạm Văn Ký [fr; vi]
- 1962 Michel Mohrt
- 1963 Robert Margerit
- 1964 Michel Droit
- 1965 Jean Husson [fr]
- 1966 François Nourissier
- 1967 Michel Tournier
- 1968 Albert Cohen
- 1969 Pierre Moustiers
- 1970 Bertrand Poirot-Delpech
- 1971 Jean d'Ormesson
- 1972 Patrick Modiano
- 1973 Michel Déon
- 1974 Kléber Haedens
- 1975
- 1976 Pierre Schoendoerffer
- 1977 Camille Bourniquel
- 1978 Pascal Jardin
- 1979 Henri Coulonges
- 1980 Louis Gardel
- 1981 Jean Raspail
- 1982 Vladimir Volkoff
- 1983 Liliane Guignabodet [fr]
- 1984 Jacques-Francis Rolland [fr]
- 1985 Patrick Besson
- 1986 Pierre-Jean Rémy
- 1987 Frédérique Hébrard
- 1988 François-Olivier Rousseau
- 1989 Geneviève Dormann
- 1990 Paule Constant
- 1991 François Sureau
- 1992 Franz-Olivier Giesbert
- 1993 Philippe Beaussant
- 1994 Frédéric Vitoux
- 1995 Alphonse Boudard
- 1996 Calixthe Beyala
- 1997 Patrick Rambaud
- 1998 Anne Wiazemsky
- 1999 François Taillandier / Amélie Nothomb
- 2000 Pascal Quignard
- 2001 Éric Neuhoff
- 2002 Marie Ferranti
- 2003 Jean-Noël Pancrazi
- 2004 Bernard du Boucheron
- 2005 Henriette Jelinek [fr]
- 2006 Jonathan Littell
- 2007 Vassilis Alexakis
- 2008 Marc Bressant [fr]
- 2009 Pierre Michon
- 2010 Éric Faye [fr]
- 2011 Sorj Chalandon
- 2012 Joël Dicker
- 2013 Christophe Ono-dit-Biot [fr]
- 2014 Adrien Bosc [fr]
- 2015 Hédi Kaddour / Boualem Sansal
- 2016 Adélaïde de Clermont-Tonnerre
- 2017 Daniel Rondeau
- 2018 Camille Pascal
- 2019 Laurent Binet
- 2020 Étienne de Montety
- 2021 François-Henri Désérable
- 2022 Giuliano da Empoli