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James and Marie Kilker collection of Emmanuel Roblès materials
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Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts [Contact Us]3420 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6206
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
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Emmanuel Roblès (1914-1995) was a French-Algerian author and playwright and notable member of the French-Algerian intellectual and cultural movement, known as "Pied-Noir." "Pied-Noir" refers to people [and the corresponding intellectual and cultural movements] of French and European descent born in Algeria during the French rule from 1830 to 1962, many of whom returned to France when Algeria gained its independence. They are known to have faced alienation both in their country of birth, Algeria, and their country of citizenship, France.
Roblès was born to an ancestrally Spanish family in Oran, Algeria on May 4, 1914. His father, Manuel Roblès was a mason and his mother, Antoinette Helene Roblès was of French descent. Manuel Roblès died of typhus in Morocco while Antoinette was pregnant with Emmanuel. Because of this, Roblès' mother took on work as a laundress and maid, and his grandmother became heavily involved in his upbringing.
He was raised speaking French with his mother and Spanish with his paternal grandmother. His grandmother died around the time Roblès started secondary school, leaving him almost entirely unsupervised. As such, Roblès became somewhat "unrestrained" and got into youthful trouble with a group of boys with similar family dynamics. He was additionally uprooted several times, living with various family members and several of his mother's employers. One such employer was Madame Quinson, through whom Roblès was exposed to the life of a wealthy colonizer for the first time and was additionally given unfettered access to a broad selection of books.
In 1931, Roblès was accepted to the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Algeria with a full scholarship with the intention of becoming a teacher. In 1934, he received his brevet supérieur, which is the equivalent of the baccalauréat. While a student, he wrote for several newspapers, taught at a small school in Oran, and wrote unpaid articles for Semeur, a Socialist newspaper.
He was drafted into military service in 1937 for two years, during which time he was sent to l'Agha in Algeria to be trained in meteorology. During this time, he met Albert Camus, with whom he became friends, and connected with Paul and Georges Soubiron, who published Roblès' first major work L'Action in 1938. Camus, who ran Alger-Républicain, guaranteed another income stream for Roblès by way of contributor articles, and encouraged him to write his second novel, La Vallée du Paradis in serial form for the paper.
In 1938, Roblès was discharged from his military service and returned to the University of Algeria to pursue a license in Spanish literature. In 1939, he met law student Paulette Puyade at the university. Together they had two children, Paul and Jacqueline.
While travelling in France with Paulette, Roblès was recalled to his unit upon the commencement of World War II. During the Phoney War (September 1939-May 1940), Roblès served as a Spanish interpreter before being discharged again on July 29, 1940. At this time, Emmanuel and Paulette Roblès earned teaching posts in Turenne, near Oran. The isolation of their time in Turenne inspired Roblès to write Île Déserte.
In 1941, Roblès participated in an underground channel organized by Camus to aid European escapees in their journey to Gibraltar. While participating in the resistance movement in Grasel-Bizar, American officers offered him a position in the Psychological Warfare Branch due to his proficiency in Spanish and meteorology. At this time, he completed his work on Travail d'Homme, but a paper shortage threatened his ability to publish it. However, in 1943 the American military gave him newsprint with which to publish the novel. For it he won the Grand Prix Littéraire de l'Algérie and the Prix Populiste.
Due in part to these awards, Roblès was able to return to the French military in a position more suited to his interests. He became a war correspondent with the French Air Force (Ailes de France) and covered military training camps and combat in Corsica, Sardinia, and Italy. In August 1944, Roblès moved to Paris to serve as the codirector and war correspondent for Ailes de France.
In 1946, Roblès was again discharged from the French military. He brought his family to Paris from Algeria. His publisher, Charlot, had already re-established in France. He was able to support his family from the royalties from his books, article sales to various journals, and continued contributions to Aviation Française (previously Ailes de France). In this period, he began work on his most successful play, Montserrat.
The hardships of post-war life in France prompted the Roblès family's return to Algeria, where he completed Les hauteurs de ville, resumed work on Montserrat, and became a literary critic for Radio-Alger. Montserrat premiered both in Paris and in Algeria on April 23, 1948.
In 1950, Roblès' long-time publisher, Charlot, failed. He then began a relationship with the publisher Seuil that lasted for the rest of his career. In 1952, he saw some of his biggest success with Cela s'appelle l'aurore.
By 1958, the escalation of the Algerian war forced the Roblès family back to Paris.
In 1973, he was elected as a member of the Académie Goncourt.
He continued to have a prolific career, publishing at regular intervals until his death on February 22, 1995 in Boulogne, France.
James A. Kilker, PhD (1925-2012) was an American professor of French Studies and French translator. He held a B.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Missouri and a Master of Foreign Studies from the University of Maryland with Certificate from the University of Paris, Sorbonne. He worked at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. He was awarded the Odre des Palmes Academique by the French Government and was American translator for works by Emmanuel Roblès, with whom he maintained a friendship.
Marie Kilker is a reviewer and theater critic. She earned her PhD from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale in 1972. Her research is described as "an interdisciplinary doctorate, speech-theatre, English, emphasizing dramatic literature in the western world supported by theatre theory, history, criticism, and literary oral interpretation." (Kilker)
Sources:
[Box 1, folder 21] James and Marie Kilker collection of Emmanuel Roblès materials, 1941-2023, Ms. Coll. 1562, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania
Kilker, Marie. "About." mariejkilker.weebly.com/about.html
Legacy.com, and Legacy. "James Kilker Obituary (2012) - Sarasota, FL - Herald Tribune." Legacy, Legacy, 22 Aug. 2012, www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/heraldtribune/name/james-kilker-obituary?id=19099516.
The James and Marie Kilker collection of Emmanuel Roblès material measures 5 linear feet in 5 boxes and dates from 1941 to 2023. It consists primarily of collected material relating to Roblès' work and career, correspondence between the Kilkers and Roblès, and published material by Roblès. There is also material relating to other Algerian-born European authors and playwrights.
This collection is of use to researchers interested in Emmanuel Roblès' life, career, and works. It is also of use to anyone looking to gain insight into the relationship between a creator and their primary translator or into the translation process in general.
It is organized into the following series: I. Awards and prizes; II. Academic works on Emmanuel Roblès; III. Articles; IV. Bibliographies; V. Biographical material; VI. Correspondence; VII. Interviews; VIII. Photographs; IX. Material related to works by Emmanuel Roblès; X. Material related to works by others; XI. Reviews of Emmanuel Roblès' work; and XII. Published volumes.
Of note to researchers are the Correspondence and Interviews series, in which James Kilker and Emmanuel Roblès discuss Roblès' life, work, and inspiration at length and with intention over the course of twenty years. The correspondence contains personal updates, travel, professional updates, and more philosophical conversations about both Roblès' and Kilker's work and writing. This material offers unique insight into an author's motivation and inspiration for his work, in addition to how his own upbringing and life events effected it.
Much of this collection is written in French, but there is a significant amount of English material as well. Much of the biographical material is in French, but Kilker's biography of Roblès is entirely in English. The correspondence, especially the correspondence between Kilker and Roblès, is almost exclusively in French. A significant portion of the material related to works by Emmanuel Roblès concerns Kilker's effort to translate these works, meaning that this series is equally in French and English. Kilker's interviews with Emmanuel Roblès and other French-Algerian authors and playwrights are entirely in French.
Gift of James and Marie Kilker, 2023.
- Publisher
- University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts
- Finding Aid Author
- Kelin Baldridge Smallwood
- Finding Aid Date
- 2023 November 1
- Access Restrictions
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The bulk of this collection is open for research use, however, use of the original audio tapes in in Box 3 is restricted. If the originals do not already have copies, they may be sent to an outside vendor for copying. Patrons are financially responsible for the cost. The turnaround time from the time of request to delivery of digital items will depend on the nature of the material and is subject to review for condition. Please contact the Kislak Center (kislak@upenn.edu) for cost estimates and ordering. Researchers should be aware of specifics of copyright law and act accordingly.
- Use Restrictions
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Copyright restrictions may exist. For most library holdings, the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania do not hold copyright. It is the responsibility of the requester to seek permission from the holder of the copyright to reproduce material from the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts.