ANDRE MALRAUX AND SINGAPORE

Transcription

1 Courtesy of Madame Florence Malraux, daughter of Clara and André Malraux FOR THE COMMEMORATION OF 50 YEARS OF SINGAPORE FRANCE RELATIONSHIP PRESENT on 20, 21 & 22 May 2015 ANDRE MALRAUX AND SINGAPORE LITERARY CONFERENCES AT NATIONAL LIBRARY & FRENCH SCHOOL PASSION AND EXOTICISM FROM AN ADVENTURER TO A MINISTER Ministry of Information and the Arts Collection, courtesy of National Archives of Singapore The most fascinating man I ve ever talked to (US First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy)

2 Courtesy of M. Marcelino Truong Conferences for the general public: PASSION AND EXOTICISM ANDRE AND CLARA MALRAUX, SINGAPORE IN THE 1920s & 1930s A literary and historic conference on the young couple Clara and André Malraux, their travels, their adventures, and their first novels, while discovering South-East Asia and Singapore in the 1920s and 1930s 1. In French Wednesday 20 May 2015, 7pm - 9pm, free admission We advise you to book your seat at Mdm Anissa Benzakour-Chami Mr Raoul Marc Jennar 2. In English Thursday 21 May 2015, 2pm pm, free admission Possibility Room, Level 5 National Library Building 100 Victoria Street We advise you to book your seat at Mdm Anissa Benzakour-Chami Mr Raoul Marc Jennar Mr Peter Tame Facilitator: Dr Bruce Lockhart

3 André Malraux, 1974 Picture of Roger Pic, BNF Conferences for the general public: FROM AN ADVENTURER TO A MINISTER ANDRE MALRAUX S VISIT TO SINGAPORE IN 1965 AND HIS LEGACY IN CULTURAL FIELDS TODAY André Malraux joined General Charles de Gaulle after WWII and played a political role in the RPF, de Gaulle s party. After the General came back to power, Malraux became minister of Cultural Affairs from 1959 until This conference is to commemorate the meeting between André Malraux and the Minister of Culture, Mr S. Rajaratnam in July Today the legacy of Malraux is still found in Heritage Conservation as well as Asian Arts and Museums, among many cultural fields where Malraux s influence has been particularly strong. It s also highly interesting to discuss Malraux s definition of Culture. 3. In French Thursday 21 May 2015, 7pm - 9pm, free admission We advise you to book your seat at Mdm Janine Mossuz-Lavau - Mdm Marie-Sophie Doudet 4. In English Friday 22 May 2015, 2pm pm, free admission (limited seats) Visitors Briefing Room, Level 1 National Library Building 100 Victoria Street We advise you to book your seat at Mdm Janine Mossuz-Lavau Ms Irene Ng Dr Kevin Tan - Mr Peter Tame

4 Courtesy of CapBear Editions Courtesy of Editions Gallimard Conferences for students: LA CONDITION HUMAINE MAN S FATE Presentation of Man s Fate, Malraux s major work, Goncourt Prize 1933, a novel of adventure and commitment inspired by the events in China 5. In French Thursday 21 May 2015, 2.15pm pm, for LFS students only With speaker Mdm Marie-Sophie Doudet and the teachers of French literature FRANCE AND INDOCHINA Historic conference on colonial Indochina 6. In French Friday 22 May 2015, 2.15pm pm, for LFS students only With speaker Mr Raoul Marc Jennar and the teachers of History & Geography

5 Speakers and facilitators: Madame Anissa Benzakour-Chami Vice-president of AIAM, writer, professor at Hassan II University Casablanca, president of the Mediterranean Research Centre (CRM) Madame Janine Mossuz-Lavau Head of research at the Centre National de Recherches Scientifiques (CNRS) Paris Ms Irene Ng Writer, Biographer of S. Rajaratnam, Member of Parliament (Tampines GRC) Madame Marie-Sophie Doudet Senior lecturer at Institut d Etudes Politiques in Aix-en-Provence Monsieur Raoul Marc Jennar Writer, doctor in political science and in Khmer studies at Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales Paris (retired) Dr Kevin Tan President of ICOMOS Singapore, ex-president of Singapore Heritage Society Monsieur Peter Tame Vice-president of AIAM, reader in French at Queen s University Belfast (retired) Dr Bruce Lockhart Associate Professor at NUS, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Department of History, a specialist in the history of Vietnam and of colonial Indochina

6 Brief summary: Born in 1901, André Malraux began writing articles on artists from a very young age. In 1923, he embarked on an expedition to Cambodia with his wife Clara. He was arrested for the theft of a basrelief from the Banteai Srei temple in Angkor, and was sentenced to prison. French literary circles managed to obtain his release. In 1925, the couple decided to once again head for Indochina to establish a newspaper. They called in at Singapore where Clara rediscovered Chinese haste mixed with the Malay slide, and the slow lengthening of the Hindu stride. Clara, who spoke English fluently, would return from Saigon to Singapore to negotiate the purchase of articles on world news from The Straits Times for their newspaper, l Indochine. This second Indochinese sojourn was also unsuccessful the newspaper only published a few issues. Inspired by the Far East, André Malraux published La Tentation de l Occident, Les Conquérants, La Voie royale and received the Prix Goncourt in 1933 for La Condition humaine. During their port calls in Singapore between 1923 and 1931, André and Clara Malraux stayed at the Raffles Hotel. In 1965, Malraux returned as French Minister for Cultural Affairs, and he wrote in his Antimémoires: The Raffles has changed a lot; but as before, the rickshaw pullers play Chinese cards on the pavement. Bicycles have replaced the shafts of the rickshaws. When I came here the first time, I wasn t even 25 years old. Asia and my destiny lay before me. André Malraux has joined the ranks of literary figures such as Joseph Conrad, Rudyard Kipling and Somerset Maugham who have been honoured by the Raffles Hotel by having a suite named after him. Extracts from the book The French in Singapore, EDM Editions Didier Millet, page 124 Although in Singapore unofficially, Malraux paid a courtesy visit to his counterpart Minister of Culture Mister S. Rajaratnam, famous for being one of the founders of the Republic of Singapore. This meeting, held in July 1965 at Rajaratnam s office in City Hall, was related by The Straits Times with photos and article. We would like to express our gratitude to our generous sponsors: Pierre Coureux Président Siège social : 72 rue Vauvenargues Paris