WRITER

Simon Leys

1935 - 2014

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Pierre Ryckmans (28 September 1935 – 11 August 2014), better known by his pen name Simon Leys, was a Belgian-Australian writer, essayist and literary critic, translator, art historian, sinologist, and university professor, who lived in Australia from 1970. His work particularly focused on the politics and traditional culture of China, calligraphy, French and English literature, the commercialization of universities, and nautical fiction. Through the publication of his trilogy Les Habits neufs du président Mao (1971), Ombres chinoises (1974) and Images brisées (1976), he denounced the Cultural Revolution in China and the idolizing of Mao in the West. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Simon Leys is the 4,899th most popular writer (down from 4,045th in 2019), the 652nd most popular biography from Belgium (down from 531st in 2019) and the 40th most popular Belgian Writer.

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Among WRITERS

Among writers, Simon Leys ranks 4,899 out of 7,302. Before him are Andreas Kalvos, Saint-Pol-Roux, Alex Garland, Heðin Brú, William Gibson, and Alina Fernández. After him are Georg Calixtus, Andrejs Upīts, Alexander Abusch, Álvaro Pombo, Eugène Guillevic, and Linn Ullmann.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1935, Simon Leys ranks 346. Before him are Lewis Arquette, Víctor Benítez, Peter Grant, Mario Camus, Christina Pickles, and Mary Oliver. After him are Johnny Mathis, Ahmad al-Ghashmi, Dan Ayrault, Sherrill Milnes, Halina Poświatowska, and Waldemar Baszanowski. Among people deceased in 2014, Simon Leys ranks 332. Before him are Jürgen Kurbjuhn, Anahita Ratebzad, Simón Díaz, Jonathan Williams, Lucien Clergue, and Georg Stollenwerk. After him are Hanna Maron, Joseph Sargent, Roger Lloyd-Pack, Joachim Fuchsberger, Al Pease, and Imre Gedővári.

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In Belgium

Among people born in Belgium, Simon Leys ranks 652 out of 1,190. Before him are Jules De Bisschop (1879), Victor Mees (1927), Joël Robert (1943), Jules de Trooz (1857), Edgard Colle (1897), and Aimé Haegeman (1861). After him are Paul de Smet de Naeyer (1843), Gotye (1980), Jacques Beurlet (1944), Patrick Nève (1949), Ferdinand Adams (1903), and Henri Grégoire (1881).

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Among WRITERS In Belgium

Among writers born in Belgium, Simon Leys ranks 40. Before him are Louis Paul Boon (1912), Willem Elsschot (1882), Suzanne Lilar (1901), Jean-Philippe Toussaint (1957), François Weyergans (1941), and Jan Frans Willems (1793). After him are Françoise Mallet-Joris (1930), Paul van Ostaijen (1896), Jan van Beers (1821), Maurice Carême (1899), Jacob van Maerlant (1235), and Herman Teirlinck (1879).

Belgian born Writers

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