Julien Gracq

Julien Gracq (1910–2007), born Louis Poirier, was a French writer and geography teacher. His work was influenced by German Romanticism, German Idealism and Surrealism, and he was associated for a time with André Breton. His best-known books include the debut novel *Au château d’Argol* and *The Opposing Shore* (*Le Rivage des Syrtes*). He declined the Prix Goncourt in 1951, which he had been awarded for the latter novel. From the 1960s onward, he increasingly turned to essays, autobiographical writings and literary criticism. Gracq was among the few authors whose work was included in the Bibliothèque de la Pléiade during his lifetime.