(NEW YORK)— PEN America mourns the death of the renowned literary agent Georges Borchardt, who served on its Board of Trustees during the 1980s. Borchardt introduced English readers to literary giants like Elie Wiesel and Samuel Beckett, finding American publishers for translations of their seminal works Night and Waiting for Godot, while also championing major authors including Jean-Paul Sartre, Marguerite Duras, Eugene Ionesco, Ian McEwan, Tracy Kidder and historian-journalist Anne Applebaum. He died in Manhattan on Sunday at age 97.
He dedicated himself to literary causes, had eclectic and sophisticated tastes in books, and championed translated works from several languages, including Charles de Gaulle’s three-volume memoirs, scholar Robert Fagles’ acclaimed translations of the Greek classics and authors from France, where he grew up. Borchardt’s life’s work aligned perfectly with PEN America’s mission, and he served as board treasurer for two terms, 1986-1988.
In its obituary, The Associated Press wrote: “Few agents were as successful and as beloved as Borchardt, once praised by author T.C. Boyle as “the most wonderful man who ever lived on this earth.”
Born in Berlin and raised in Paris, Borchardt lost his father to cancer at 11; his mother was deported with other Jews to Auschwitz and he went to school off the rolls as a “non-person” in Aix-en-Provence. He emigrated to the United States in 1947 and though unable to speak English, taught French at New York University, later finding work at a literary agency after placing an advertisement in The New York Times. Studying at night on the G.I. bill, he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees at NYU.
“George Borchardt was a giant in his field whose remarkable taste and love of literature and persistence in bringing astonishing works to publication was a gift to English language readers for sixty years. Had he not pursued a literary career, our reading lives would have been much poorer and our understanding and empathy imperfect,” said Clarisse Rosaz Shariyf, interim co-CEO and chief program officer, Literary Programming.
The New York Times obituary reported: “Mr. Borchardt, an urbane and debonair man whose wry observations came with a slight French accent — a remnant of his upbringing in Paris — had an astute eye for literary talent. At various times, he or the Manhattan agency that he and his wife, Anne Borchardt, founded in 1967, Georges Borchardt Inc., represented five Nobel laureates, eight Pulitzer Prize-winners and one statesman, the French president Charles de Gaulle.”
In an Instagram post, his eponymous Literary Agency reported his death. “His last weeks were spent making deals, mentoring the ‘young’ people in the office and celebrating the holidays with his family,” the agency said. “Georges devoted more than 60 years to representing writers of uncommon intelligence, originality, and courage. His career was defined by an unshakable belief in literature, an exacting editorial eye, and a lifelong commitment to his authors.”
The agency represented 200 authors and the literary estates of Tennessee Williams, Aldous Huxley and Hannah Arendt.
Besides his wife, Anne, whom he married in 1961, he is survived by his daughter Valerie Borchardt, who is the foreign rights director at her parents’ agency, and two granddaughters.
About PEN America
PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible. Learn more at pen.org.
Contact: Suzanne Trimel, [email protected], 201-247-5057