Pieyre de Mandriagues, André

(1909-1991)

   writer

   Born in Paris, André Pieyre de Mandriagues, after traveling in Europe and the Mediterranean to pursue his interest in Etruscan art and civilization, wrote his accounts in prose poetry (L'Âge de craie, 1935; Dans les Années sordides, 1943; Hédéra ou la Persistance de l'amour pendant une reverie, 1945; Astyanax, 1957). He then composed surrealistic collections in which he emerges as a master of the horror story (Le Musée noir, 1946; Soleil des loups, 1951). Other writings include Marbre (195 3), a story of pagan Italy; Les Lis de mer (1956), set on a Sardinian beach; La Motocyclette (1963); and La Marge (1967). His Bona: l'amour et la pienture is a fascinating and unusual book about his wife, the painter Bona Tibertelli.