Renaud Camus

, etc.). He also circulated in gay communities and is an outspoken defender of gay rights, although, as with social issues in general, he keeps his distance from doctrinaire positions. One of his first published works (and the only one (partially) translated in English), with a preface by Barthes, is "Tricks" (1979; enlarged and revised in 1982 and 1988), a “chronicle” consisting of neutral descriptions of homosexual encounters in France and elsewhere. Fragments of other works were published in the 75th issue of Yale French Studies (1988).

Camus is an exceptionally prolific writer of prodigious culture. His work could be divided into four categories: straightforward prose (travel writing, traditional-form novels, polemic, and lengthy yearly journals (diary) published from 1989 to the present; “creative” prose: “experimental” novels and a large and ever-growing, largely unpublished web text, "Vaisseaux brûles: Burnt Ships"; writings on painting and culture; and personal essays.

He has also formed a political party, "Le Parti de l’In-nocence" [sic] , continually evolving its platform, a curious blend of traditional leftist/socialist political values and conservative social values. It plays no role in French politics, but Camus seems to take it very seriously, adding position statements to the party’s website on a nearly daily basis.

Although he has a growing base of faithful and fervent readers, he is not read widely. This is partly because of the difficulty of some of his work and partly because of his alienation from the literary establishment, in which he is well known, largely because of his journals. This alienation derives from his no-holds-barred approach in his journals and his adamant insistence on expressing his convictions – political, moral, personal – in his writing (some shun him because they fear being described and/or quoted). His alienation was magnified a few years ago by a charge of anti-Semitism arising from a few words in his journal taken out of context. Even a casual reader will understand that such a charge is absurd, but the label stuck, unfortunately. As a result, when he is not the object of severe criticism, he is boycotted by most reviewers. Interestingly, Alain Finkielkraut and Élisabeth Lévy, well-known Jewish public intellectuals, came to his defense.

Works

Below is the writer's own distribution of his books.

;Eclogues (Églogues)
* "Passage", Flammarion (1975)
* "Échange" (signed Denis Duparc), Flammarion (1976)
* "Travers" (signed Renaud Camus and Tony Duparc), Hachette (1978)
* "Été (Travers II)" (signed Jean-Renaud Camus and Denis Duvert), Hachette (1982)
* "L'amour l'automne (Travers III)" (signed J.R.G. Le Camus and Antoine du Parc), P.O.L. (2007)

;Elegies (Élégies)
* "Élégies pour quelques-uns", P.O.L. (1988)
* "L'Élégie de Chamalières", Sables (1989) and P.O.L. (1991)
* "L'Élégie de Budapest" in "Le voyage à l'est", Balland and La Maison des écrivains (1990)
* "Le Bord des larmes", P.O.L. (1990)
* "Le Lac de Caresse", P.O.L. (1991)
* "Vie du chien Horla", P.O.L. (2003)

;Eulogies (Éloges)
* "Éloge moral du paraître", Sables (1995) and "Éloge du paraître", P.O.L. (2000)
* "Syntaxe ou l'autre dans la langue, et autres conférences", P.O.L. (2004)

;Chronicles (Chroniques)
* "Journal d'un voyage en France", Hachette (1981)
* "Tricks: 25 encounters", Saint Martin's Press (1981) and Serpent's Tail (1995) ["Tricks", Mazarine (1978) and P.O.L. (1988)]
* "Incomparable", with Farid Tali, P.O.L. (1999)
* "Corbeaux", Impressions Nouvelles (2000)

;Journal
* "Journal romain (1985–1986)", P.O.L. (1987)
* "Vigiles : journal 1987", P.O.L. (1990)
* "Aguets : journal 1988", P.O.L. (1990)
* "Fendre l'air : journal 1989", P.O.L. (1991)
* "L'Esprit des terrasses : journal 1990", P.O.L. (1994)
* "La Guerre de Transylvanie : journal 1991", P.O.L. (1996)
* "Le Château de Seix : journal 1992", P.O.L. (1997)
* "Graal-Plieux : journal 1993", P.O.L. (1998)
* "La Campagne de France : journal 1994", Fayard (2000)
* "La Salle des pierres : journal 1995", Fayard (2000)
* "Les nuits de l'âme : journal 1996", Fayard (2000)
* "Derniers jours : journal 1997", Fayard (2002)
* "Hommage au carré : journal 1998", Fayard (2002)
* "Retour à Canossa : journal 1999", Fayard (2002)
* "K.310 : journal 2000", P.O.L. (2003)
* "Sommeil de personne : journal 2001", Fayard (2004)
* "Outrepas : journal 2002", Fayard (2005)
* "Rannoch Moor : journal 2003", Fayard (2006)
* "Journal de « Travers »", two volumes, Fayard (2007)
* "Corée l'absente : journal 2004", Fayard (2007)

;Novels (Romans)
* "Roman roi", P.O.L. (1983)
* "Roman furieux (Roman roi II)", P.O.L. (1987)
* "Voyageur en automne", P.O.L. (1992)
* "Le Chasseur de lumières", P.O.L. (1993)
* "L'épuisant désir de ces choses", P.O.L. (1995)
* "L'Inauguration de la salle des Vents", Fayard (2003)

;Stories (Récits)
* "El", drawings by François Matton, P.O.L. (1996)

;Directories (Répertoires)
* "Etc. (abécédaire)", P.O.L. (1998)
* "Répertoire des délicatesses du français contemporain", P.O.L. (1999)

;Miscellaneous (Miscellanées)
* "Buena Vista Park", Hachette (1980)
* "Notes achriennes", P.O.L. (1982)
* "Chroniques achriennes", P.O.L. (1984)
* "Notes sur les manières du temps", P.O.L. (1985)
* "Esthétique de la solitude", P.O.L. (1990)
* "Du sens", P.O.L. (2002)

;Topography (Topographie)
* "Sept sites mineurs pour des promenades d'arrière saison en Lomagne", Sables (1994) and "Onze sites mineurs pour des promenades d'arrière saison en Lomagne", P.O.L. (1997)
* "Le Département de la Lozère", P.O.L. (1996)
* "Le Département du Gers", P.O.L. (1997)
* "Le Département de l'Hérault", P.O.L. (1999)

;Advertisements (Annonces)
* "P.A. (petite annonce)", P.O.L. (1997)
* "Vaisseaux brûlés (petite annonce)", online book (2000-...)
* "Ne lisez pas ce livre ! (Vaisseaux brûlés 1)", P.O.L. (2000)
* "Killalusimeno (Vaisseaux brûlés 2)", P.O.L. (2001)
* "Est-ce que tu me souviens ? (Vaisseaux brûlés 2-2-37-1)", P.O.L. (2002)

;Writings on art (Écrits sur l'art)
* "Discours de Flaran", P.O.L. (1997)
* "Roumains en regard", with Jean-Jacques Moles, Jean-Jacques Moles editions (1999)
* "Nightsound (sur Josef Albers)", P.O.L. (2000)
* "Commande publique", P.O.L. (2007)

;Talks (Entretiens)
* "L'étrangèreté (entretiens avec Emmanuel Carrère et Alain Finkielkraut)", Tricorne (2003)

;Other books (Autres ouvrages)
* "La dictature de la petite bourgeoisie", Privat (2005)
* "Comment massacrer efficacement une maison de campagne en dix-huit leçons", Privat (2006)
* "Le communisme du XXIe siècle", Xenia (2007)

Links

* [http://www.pol-editeur.fr/catalogue/ficheauteur.asp?num=37 Renaud Camus at publisher's site] (in French)
* [http://pagesperso-orange.fr/renaud.camus/ Personal site] (in French)
* [http://www.renaud-camus.org/ Renaud Camus readers society site] (in French)