Dominique Fernandez - French writer

Award-winning French writer Dominique Fernandez says he gets inspiration for his writing by visiting many cities, cultures and peoples. Fernandez, 72, began travelling as a teenager and has explored most European cities. Cities and towns form the backdrop for his stories, which focus on the environment and local culture.

"It is wonderful to learn about different cultures and people and generate ideas and design your plot in those environments. I enjoy this and it gives a a different flavour to my novels."
Fernandez has travelled through most of Europe, Russia, China and South America. In the Middle East he has visited Egypt, Syria and Lebanon.

In the Middle East, Fernandez said, he was impressed by the history and culture of Syria. "I am planning to write a book on Syria," he said. He is in the UAE to lecture at Zayed University and Alliance Francaise in Dubai and Abu Dhabi on travel writing. This is his first visit to the Gulf. His UAE tour was organised by Alliance Francaise and the French Embassy.

Fernandez is known for "psychobiography", a style which he devised to place the work of an individual in the context of his life. His style is characterised by a deep erudition and original perspectives on many social issues. Through his characters, he aims to resurrect the historical setting of a period.

He was awarded the Prix Goncourt, France's most coveted literary prize, in 1982, for his novel, "Dans la Main de L'ange" ("In the Hand of the Angel"), and the Monaco Grand Literary Prize in 1986 for his life's work.

Having written 50 books, Fernandez said he never gets tired of travelling or writing. "Both, to me, are work that I enjoy thoroughly. It is boredom that tires me." He doesn't plan his writings beforehand. "When I visit a particular place, I try to observe the details of the culture and lifestyle. "The inspiration to write has to come naturally. I have to be inspired by something which would force me to write. And when it does, the story also unfolds."

He finds writing a means of resolving conflicts, an attempt to take the problem out of oneself. "My parents divorced when I was three. I had to go through all the trauma. I didn't know how to handle the situation. My childhood wasn't a happy one. "My parent's divorce traumatised my life. It pushed me into writing. I resolve my troubles through writing."

Fernandez doesn't like the idea of reading about a place first and then visiting it. He likes it the other way round. "I never read about a place before visiting it. So I develop thoughts freely. Later, upon returning, I read about the place and compare my understanding with others'.

Fernandez confessed that he had fallen in love with St. Petersburg, Russia. "Before travelling to the city I had read certain articles, which I normally don't do. But what I discovered is amazing. It is probably the most beautiful city on earth. For that matter, Russia is the most culturally alive country in the world." Some of his novels are set in Russia.