Association des écrivains combattants

The Association des écrivains combattants (AEC) is a French association founded on 19 June 1919 by eighty men of letters who were mobilized during the Great War and survived it. Its purpose was to maintain the cult of remembrance of comrades fallen in the field of honor, to maintain and strengthen bonds of camaraderie among combatant writers, and to defend their professional interests. Founding members include Roland Dorgelès, Maurice Genevoix, Claude Farrère, Pierre Mac Orlan, and Henry Malherbe, who became its first president. The association publishes a quarterly review, L'Écrivain combattant, and organizes cultural events such as literary prize ceremonies, a reading of texts at the Panthéon, the rekindling of the Flame, and a book fair called "L'Après-midi du livre". Since 2011 it has been presided over by the poet Jean Orizet, and it has more than 500 members.

The Association des Écrivains combattants (A.E.C.) was created on 19 June 1919 by eighty men of letters, mobilized during the Great War and survivors of it. Its purpose was: "to maintain the cult of remembrance of comrades fallen in the field of honor, to maintain and strengthen bonds of camaraderie among combatant writers, to defend their professional interests." Among the founding members are Roland Dorgelès, Maurice Genevoix, Claude Farrère, Pierre Mac Orlan, and Henry Malherbe, who became its first president. From its creation, the association published a periodic bulletin, the Bulletin des Écrivains combattants, and organized various events (annual rekindling of the Flame at the Arc de Triomphe, periodic meetings, various positions taken for the defense and influence of the combatant world, social aid to combatant writers), while watching over the memory of the dead and the interests of survivors who could not publish during the conflict years. The A.E.C. carried out a census of "writers dead for France." It retained 560, including Charles Péguy, Alain-Fournier, Louis Pergaud, Guillaume Apollinaire, Ernest Psichari, Jean de La Ville de Mirmont, Émile Driant, Victor Segalen, Jean Maspero, Augustin Cochin, and many young men who had already published but had not had time to achieve full recognition. These 560 writers were the subject of notices gathered in an Anthologie des écrivains morts pour la France, in five volumes (more than a thousand pages), published between 1924 and 1926. In December 1925, the A.E.C. organized in Paris the Après-midi du Livre combattant, which constituted the first "book fair" ex... In 1997 the AEC decided to welcome among its members writers, women and men, who, having been unable to serve under arms due to their generation or sex, nevertheless showed by their works and conduct that they shared its civic and patriotic values. Among its many members, the association counts five associations and one foundation: Association ACVG (Anciens Combattants et Victimes de Guerre du XVIème arrondissement), Association Les Amis d'Alain Bosquet, Association Les Amis d'Alexandre Vialatte, Association Les Amis de Pierre Benoit, Association Les Amis de Louis Pergaud, Fondation The First Alliance. The association organizes various cultural events throughout the year such as literary prize ceremonies, a reading of texts at the Panthéon, the rekindling of the Flame, and a book fair called "L'Après-midi du livre". The AEC also publishes a quarterly review, L'Écrivain combattant. The books of its library can be consulted at the Médiathèque de Rueil-Malmaison. Its news can also be consulted on its Facebook page: Association des écrivains com…

1. 1Accueillesecrivainscombattants.fr
2. 2Histoire de l'AEClesecrivainscombattants.fr