French-Jewish author and activist Marek Halter writing on his Olivetti Valentine portable typewriter in his studio in the Marais district of Paris on September 5, 1979, following the publication of his book The Uncertain Life of Marco
Mahler (La vie incertaine de Marco Mahler).
Halter is best known for his
historical novels, which have been translated into English, Polish, Hebrew and
many other languages. He was born in Warsaw on January 27, 1936. During
World War II, he and his parents escaped from the Warsaw Ghetto and fled to the
Soviet Union, spending the remainder of the war in Ukraine, Moscow and finally
in Kokand, in Uzbekistan. In 1945 he was chosen to travel to Moscow to present
flowers to Joseph Stalin. In 1946 the family returned to Poland and in 1950 they emigrated to France, taking up residence in Paris.
Halter studied pantomime under Marcel Marceau and was admitted to the École Nationale
des beaux-arts to study painting. In 1954, he received the Deauville
international prize, and was also awarded a prize at the Biennale d'Ancone. His
first international exhibit was in 1955 in Buenos Aires, and he remained in there for two years, returning to France in 1957, where he engaged in political
journalism and advocacy. In 1991 Halter organised the French College in
Moscow.
In 1968 he and his wife Clara Halter founded the magazine Élements, which published works by Israeli,
Palestinian and Arab writers. Halter's first book, the political autobiography Le Fou
et les Rois (The Jester and the Kings), was awarded the Prix Aujourd'hui in
1976.
Halter's other novels include The Messiah, The Mysteries of Jerusalem, The Book of
Abraham (1986) and its sequel The Children of Abraham (1990), The Wind of the
Khazars (2003), Sarah
(2004), Zipporah (2005), Lilah (2006), and Mary of Nazareth (2008). Non-fiction
works include Stories of
Deliverance: Speaking with Men And Women Who Rescued Jews from the Holocaust
(1998).
If one desires to be an activist, the tool of choice must be a typewriter.
ReplyDeleteToday I got my own Valentine out to take some notes on a book, and it was a satisfying experience.
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