Celebrating the Michel Déon Collection


Distinguished author and resident of Co. Galway, M. Michel Déon was elected to the Acadamie Française in 1978.

"Since the early seventeenth century, the Académie française has been recognized as the preeminent authority on the French language, additionally playing a key role in promoting French and Francophone literature and culture around the world." - Prof. Philip Dine

The Acadamie awards several literary prizes every year for works in the French language and M. Déon therefore receives many volumes of works in French for his consideration and review. For over a decade now, M. Déon has been kind enough to donate a large number of these volumes to the James Hardiman Library. Through his generosity we have now amassed more than 6,000 titles across all forms of literature in the French language.

"Students and staff at NUI Galway have benefited enormously from the support of M. Michel Déon, whose generosity and standing as one of the Immortels (as academicians are traditionally known) has allowed the Hardiman Library to build a remarkable collection of works devoted to France and French-ness, in the broadest sense. From Amin Maalouf to Émile Zola, and from the Algerian war to sports journalism (to mention only my own interests), the Déon Collection is both a cultural treasure-house and an invaluable research resource." - Prof. Philip Dine

Some examples of works from the collection are shown below, along with some of M. Déon’s own literary works.  All of the books in the Déon Collection are available for NUI Galway staff or students to borrow and this collection no doubt greatly enhances the learning experience of students of French at NUI Galway. Simply search for Déon Collection in the Library Catalogue to see the delights that it contains.

 






More information on M. Deon is available at:


Comments

John Waddell said…
Why do you not mention a unique NUIG achievement? Professor Jane Conroy was awarded the Grand Prix de la Francophonie de l'Académie Française in 2005. She was the first woman to receive this prestigious prize, one normally confined to francophone countries. M. Déon was also Adjunct Professor here. Why no mention of his most recent Irish-focused book: Cavalier—passe ton chemin published in 2005?