Paris/New York. With the death of the French writer Roger Peyrefitte, also the transatlantic cooperation ha lost a loyal friend. The writer died on November 5th in Paris, at the age of 93 years. He lost after a long fight with the Parkinson's disease, explained a spokesman for the circle of friends of Peyrefitte in the French capital. The author, who was born on August 17, 1907 in Castres, has made his international breakthrough as a young diplomat with his novel "Secret Friendships".
Many of his books were published also in the USA. Peyrefitte belonged to the friends of Jean Cocteau, Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso, Arno Breker, Ernst Fuchs, and many others. To the important publications belong the trilogy about the life and mission of Alexander the Great, a book about Charles de Gaulle, as well as novels with contemporary, entertaining background.
Since 1990, Peyrefitte was the Grandmaster of the Alexander Order for Art and Science. The Chancellor of the Order in USA, John Zavrel recalls about the poet: "His hands shaked in the last years, but his spirit was wide awake". Until the last months of his life Peyrefitte was a public personality who supported not only the French-German friendship. "Also the strengthening of European-American relations were close to his heart", says Zavrel. "Although he was not as widely known as Jean Cocteau, his engagement for the young generation was excellent". He supported the youth exchange program and held free lectures and readings for the young people.
In the last years of his life Peyrefitte lived more withdrawn in France. His tasks as Grandmaster were taken up to a large extent by the American Dr. Wilson Greatbatch as Vice Grandmaster. The office address of the Order in USA is: 10545 Main Street, Clarence, NY 14031. The internet address is: http://www.meaus.com
Wilson Greatbatch is the highly esteemed inventor of the implantable heart pacemaker. For years he has belonger to the supporters of the people-connecting work of the Alexander Order with offices in Berlin, Paris, Athens, Jerusalem and correspondents in India, Japan and South America. "By our efforts we want to serve the further development of human society", said the Vice Grandmaster Greatbatch. "In this sense we will keep the memory of Roger Peyrefitte in our thoughts."
Copyright 2001 West-Art
PROMETHEUS, Internet Bulletin for Art, Politics and Science.