Obituary
Maurice Blanchot


Enigmatic French writer committed to the virtues of silence and abstraction

Douglas Johnson
Saturday March 1, 2003
The Guardian

The French writer Maurice Blanchot, who has died aged 95, was not so much a private person, it was almost as if he was perpetually absent. He lived in isolated places, such as the village of Eze-Village, in the south, or Mesnil Saint Denis, in the Yvelines, where he died. He never appeared on radio or television, never spoke in public and did not allow himself to be photographed. One biographer, Christophe Bident, entitled his book Maurice Blanchot: Invisible Partner.
Yet Blanchot was considered one of the outstanding intellectuals of postwar France. He wrote 11 novels and a series of essays, many of which also appeared in book form. None were bestsellers, but what counted was their quality. People were not always converted to his ideas, but they were invariably fascinated by him.