Pierre Gripari facts for kids

Pierre Gripari (born January 7, 1925, died December 23, 1990) was a famous French writer. He was especially known for his wonderful children's books. He was born and passed away in Paris, France.

Early Life and Work

Pierre Gripari had a Greek father and a French mother. Sadly, he lost both his parents in 1944. This meant he had to stop his studies. He took on different jobs to support himself.

From 1946 to 1949, he served in the airborne troops. Later, from 1950 to 1957, he worked for Mobil Oil. During this time, he was also a representative for the CGT trade union. A trade union is a group that helps workers with their rights and working conditions.

Pierre Gripari started writing when he was young. However, he did not think his stories were ready for publishing until the late 1950s.

Writing Career

In 1959, Pierre Gripari published his autobiography, Pierrot-la-lune. An autobiography is a book about a person's own life. This book was well-received by critics. He became more known with his play Lieutenant Tenant in 1962. However, his books after that did not sell very well at first.

Pierre Gripari kept publishing his books with help from a publisher called L'Age d'Homme. He became truly famous in the late 1970s. This was thanks to his children's book, Contes de la rue Broca. From then until he passed away, he was mostly known as a children's author in France.

He also worked as a theatre critic for a newspaper called Écrits de Paris. A theatre critic watches plays and writes reviews about them.

Later Years and Legacy

In the 1950s, Pierre Gripari was a member of the French communist party. However, his political views changed after 1956. He began to develop different ideas about politics.

His writing often included elements of surrealism. Surrealism is an art style that mixes real things with dream-like or strange ideas. He also wrote parodies of different types of stories. A parody is a funny imitation of something.

Pierre Gripari passed away on December 23, 1990, in Paris. He was at St. Joseph hospital after having surgery. He was cremated on January 4, 1991, at the cemetery of Pere-Lachaise.

• Alain Paucard (entretiens avec Pierre Gripari), Gripari, mode d’emploi, L'Âge d'Homme, 1985.