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Gaëlle Bélem

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Gaëlle Bélem
Gaëlle Bélem en 2020.
Gaëlle Bélem en 2020.
Born (1984-11-14) November 14, 1984 (age 40)
Saint-Benoît, Réunion
OccupationLatin, history and geography teacher, journalist, novelist
LanguageFrench
NationalityFrench
EducationLycée Pierre-de-Fermat, École pratique des hautes études
Alma materParis 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University
Notable worksUn monstre est là, derrière la porte (2020), Le fruit le plus rare ou la vie d'Edmond Albius (2023)
Notable awards

Gaëlle Bélem (born 1984) is a French writer of Réunionese extraction known for the prize-winning coming-of-age novel Un monstre est là, derrière la porte (2020), and the historical novel Le fruit le plus rare : ou la vie d'Edmond Albius (2023).[1]

Biography

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Gaëlle Bélem was born in Saint-Benoît, Réunion, grew up in a modest family and has been writing since the age of twelve.[2][3] She left Réunion at the age of 17, and studied in Toulouse, France, at the Lycée Pierre-de-Fermat from 2002 to 2005, and subsequently at Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University in 2005 and finally at École Pratique des Hautes Études.[2] In 2009 she started as a teacher of history and geography in Île-de-France.[2] Back in Réunion, she continued to work as a teacher of Latin, history and geography, first in middle school and later in high school.[3][4] She also taught in a detention center[2] and functions as an associate judge in a juvenile court.[3]

In 2020 she published her first novel Un monstre est là, derrière la porte (translated title: A Monster is There, Behind the Door).[2][5][6] The novel was awarded the 2020 Grand prix du roman métis as well as the André-Dubreuil prize of the Société des gens de lettres for a first novel and was among the finalists for the Prix des cinq continents de la francophonie that year.[2][5][7] Not an autobiographical novel, it relates with humor the story of a young girl growing up in a poor and dysfunctional family in Saint-Benoît.[3]

In 2023, Bélem published her second novel Le fruit le plus rare ou la vie d'Edmond Albius (translated title: The Rarest Fruit, or the Life of Edmond Albius), both a fictionalized historical biography of horticulturist Edmond Albius and an adventure novel.[8][9] Albius's novel technique revolutionized the cultivation of vanilla by making it possible to profitably grow Vanilla planifolia beyond its native habitat in Latin America.

Works

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  • Bélem, Gaëlle (2022). Un monstre est là, derrière la porte. Collection Folio. Histoire, 7031 (in French). Paris: Gallimard. ISBN 9782072963575. OCLC 1306268362.
  • Bélem, Gaëlle (2023). Le fruit le plus rare : ou la vie d'Edmond Albius. Continents noirs (in French). Paris: Gallimard. ISBN 9782073029898. OCLC 1395542660.

Awards

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Gaëlle Bélem". ilealapage.com (in French). Île à la Page. 26 August 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Gaëlle Bélem". La Réunion des Livres (in French). La Réunion des Livres, Association interprofessionnelle des métiers du livre à La Réunion. 19 March 2020. Retrieved 2021-01-28.
  3. ^ a b c d Baquey, Cécile (29 May 2020). "Un monstre est là, derrière la porte, le roman au titre prémonitoire de la Réunionnaise Gaëlle Bélem". la1ere.francetvinfo.fr (in French). franceinfo, La Première (French TV network). Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  4. ^ Decloitre, Laurent (5 September 2023). "Le portrait. Gaëlle Bélem, avoir le Bourbon". Libération (in French). SARL Libération, Presse Indépendante SAS, France. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  5. ^ a b Renou-Nativel, Corinne (15 April 2020). "Gaëlle Bélem, une île au bord du monde". La Croix (in French). Bayard. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  6. ^ Burcea, Dan (29 March 2020). "Interview. Gaëlle Bélem : « Un livre est bien plus qu'une juxtaposition de feuilles griffonnées »" [Interview. Gaëlle Bélem: “A book is much more than a juxtaposition of scribbled sheets”]. lettrescapitales.com (in French). Dan Burcea. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  7. ^ a b Aubert, Gérald. "Prix André Dubreuil du Premier Roman – Gaëlle Bélem". sgdl.org (in French). Paris: La SGDL – Société des gens de lettres. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  8. ^ LeaCultura Community Manager (12 September 2023). "Interview : Gaëlle Belem présente son roman "Le fruit le plus rare"". Cultura (in French). Fondation Cultura. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  9. ^ Marivat, Gladys (2023-09-22). "« Le Fruit le plus rare », de Gaëlle Bélem : l'esclave, la vanille et l'invention de La Réunion". Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  10. ^ "Grand Prix du Roman Métis 2020: Gaëlle Bélem et Caroline Laurent lauréates". exclusif.re (in French). Exclusif Réunion. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
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  • Entretien avec Gaëlle Bélem on YouTube. Video duration 23m:21s. Uploader Romanska och klassiska institution, 20 October 2023. Gaëlle Bélem is interviewed about her novel Le fruit le plus rare ou la vie d'Edmond Albius (2023) during her visit to Stockholm in 2023. In French.
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