Bernard Ollivier
Bernard Ollivier | |
|---|---|
 Bernard Ollivier in 2015 | |
| Born | 1938 (age 85–86) Manche, France |
| Nationality | French |
| Occupation(s) | Journalist writer |
Bernard Ollivier (born 1938) is a French journalist and writer, known in particular for his travel stories and as founder of the Seuil Association, a non-profit organization based in France, which seeks to reintegrate young people through walking.[1][2]
Life
Born in Manche, Ollivier led a career as a political and economic journalist.[3] Upon retirement, he fell into a deep depression. Hoping to shake himself out of it, he decided to walk the Way of St James, from Paris to Santiago de Compostela, Spain. The experience of walking transformed him. He decided to embark on a long 12,000 km walk from Istanbul to Xi'an along the Silk Road.[3][4] He completed the journey in four separate trips and published the tale in three volumes, the "Longue marche" series. The series has been extremely popular in France and has been translated into several other languages. Although he has also published short stories including a collection on the homeless,[5] several longer works of fiction, most of his writing focuses on travel.[3] The success of the first volume of Longue marche (Traverse l'Anatolie) enabled him to found the Seuil association[6] for the reintegration of young people in difficulty through walking.[7] After meeting Bénédicte Flatet, he embarked with her on a walk across Europe, from Lyon, France, to Istanbul, Turkey, completing his "Silk Road" journey at the age of 75. The pair tell of their tale in an unanticipated fourth and final volume to the Longue marche series, "Suite et fin," published in 2016. In 2019, Ollivier founded an environmental organization—Air.e_in collaboration with Bénédicte Flatet.[8] Air.e's objectives include promoting awareness of the climate crisis and establishing self-sustaining villages. To this end, the association has organized two "Marches pour demain" (Walks for Tomorrow) in Brittany, France, the first in 2021 and the second scheduled for July 2022.
Publications in French
- Longue marche : à pied de la Méditerranée jusqu'en Chine par la route de la soie, Phébus, 4 volumes, volume I, Traverser l'Anatolie (2000); volume II, Vers Samarcande (2001); volume III, Le vent des steppes (2003).[9] (Prix Joseph-Kessel 2001). Volume IV, Longue marche, suite et fin (2016). English translations of the first three volumes are available from Skyhorse Publishing (New York): volume I, Out of Istanbul (2019); volume II, Walking to Samarkand (2020); volume III, Winds of the Steppe (2020), and a translation of volume IV is planned.
- Nouvelles d’en bas, 2001, Fiction about the homeless in the métro. [5]
- L’allumette et la bombe,[10] 2007, essay on the suburbs after the 2005 French riots and description of the methods of his association.
- Carnets d’une longue marche,[11] 2005, watercolors by François Dermaut, and texts by Bernard Ollivier, about the Silk Road.
- Aventures en Loire,[12] Phébus, 2009, on a 1000 km trip by foot and canoe along the river Loire.[7]
- La vie commence à 60 ans,[13] 2012.
- Histoire de Rosa qui tint le monde dans sa main,[14] 2013.
- Sur le chemin des ducs : la Normandie à pied, de Rouen au Mont-Saint-Michel,[15] 2013.
- Marche et invente ta vie : adolescents en difficulté, ils se reconstruisent par une marche au long cours,[16] Arthaud, 2015.
- L'Essence de la Vie : Ils quittent la ville pour vivre de la terre,[17] Arthaud, 2019.
Translations in English
- Out of Istanbul (2019), Skyhorse Publishing.
- Walking to Samarkand (2020), Skyhorse Publishing.
- Winds of the Steppe (2020), Skyhorse Publishing.
- Back to Istanbul (2023), Skyhorse Publishing.
Bibliography
- Payot, Marianne (7 May 2012). "Aventures en Loire, par Bernard Ollivier" [Adventures in the Loire, by Bernard Ollivier]. L'Express (in French).
- Albouy, Gérard (2001). "Bernard Ollivier, pas à pas sur les Routes de la Soie" ["Bernard Ollivier, step by step on the Silk Roads]. Le Monde (in French). Archived from the original on 11 March 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
- Perrin, Jean-Pierre (2001). "La vie devant soie" [Life before silk / Life out in front of you]. Libération (in French). Archived from the original on 12 April 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
- Savigneau, Josayne (2001). "Nouvelles d'en bas, de Bernard Ollivier" [News from below, by Bernard Ollivier]. Le Monde (in French).[dead link]
References
- ^ Bernard Ollivier on Babelio
- ^ Biography on FNAC
- ^ a b c Perrin 2001.
- ^ Albouy 2001.
- ^ a b Savigneau 2001.
- ^ "SEUIL". assoseuil.org. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
- ^ a b Payot 2012.
- ^ "AIR.E". Retrieved 8 June 2022.
- ^ Laetitia Nanquette,; volume IV, Suite et Fin (2016); Orientalism Versus Occidentalism: Literary and Cultural Imaging Between France and Iran Since the Islamic Revolution, I.B.Tauris, 15 April 2013, p. 47-48, 50–55 in line
- ^ L’allumette et la bombe on La Croix
- ^ Carnets d’une longue marche Archived 29 June 2019 at the Wayback Machine on Phébus
- ^ Aventures en Loire
- ^ La vie commence à 60 ans on Babelio
- ^ Histoire de Rosa qui tint le monde dans sa main on Babelio
- ^ Sur le chemin des ducs : la Normandie à pied, de Rouen au Mont-Saint-Michel on Babelio
- ^ Marche et invente ta vie : adolescents en difficulté, ils se reconstruisent par une marche au long cours on Le Figaro
- ^ L'Essence de la Vie on Babelio
