Robert Desnos

Robert Desnos , French poet, born the July 4th 1900 with Paris, dead the June 8th 1945 with the Concentration camp of Theresienstadt in Czechoslovakia.

Biography

His/her father is banker and it passes all its childhood in the Saint-Merri district to Paris. The popular heart of Paris, its naive imagery and all the popular culture will cross all its work. The eyes blue but globulous behind port-holes with an air joker, bad pupil but attracted by the Literature, it publishes its first poems in the Hyphen , a review of avant-garde (in particular Make-up of Argonautes , in alexandrines carefully rhymes). It becomes acquainted with Benjamin Péret, then it will be the meeting with Breton and the participation in the movements surrealist Dada and . The September 25th 1922, it begins experiments of automatic writing, in particular under Hypnose, in which it excels and which will be worth to him this praise of Breton: “Surrealism is with the day order and Desnos is its prophet. ”

In parallel, it continues impossible loves with the Chanteuse and Comédienne Yvonne George, always surrounded by a crowd of idolâtres. To join it, it is initiated with the Opium. For it, he will write the poems With mysterious the . It is also the time when he writes Freedom or the Love! , work which will be condemned for obscenity by the court of the Seine.

In 1926, it composes off The Night Loveless Nights (“the Night of the nights without love”), a poem lyric and torn on loneliness, curiously written, like the Make-up of Argonautes , in completely traditional quatrains, much closer to Baudelaire than of Breton.

Starting from 1927, it moves away from the surrealist movement (refusing the bringing together with the Communisme), until a final rupture in 1929, when it takes part in the lampoon a Corpse writes against Breton.

In 1936, it endeavors to write a poem per day during one year (some of them were joined together in Waking state ). It also composes, but without publishing them, of the collections of poems for his wife Youki, and others, which is rather exceptional at the time, for the children of its friends (“ the Menagerie of Tristan ”). In the same style of poetry for child, it composes the “ Chantefables and Chantefleurs ”, become of traditional, largely widespread in the nursery schools and primary, and put in music like “the Ant of 18 meters” sung by Juliette Gréco.
The poet will have been one of the most active members of the surrealist group. According to André Breton, it " parl surrealist at will ". Desnos, itself, stated to have made " act of surrealism absolu". Resolutely turned towards the love and freedom, and initially allured by the audacity of the poetic experiments whose Breton is the organizer, it returns during the years 1930 to more traditional forms, not neglecting the worms rhyme, while offering uncommon prospects and an original and single dash to him.

Claim and Fantomas

It writes many advertisements in particular for the radio, as well as the serial “ Fantomas ” and of the pharmaceutical notes.

Hostile with Stalinism, Desnos is a committed poet. In 1928, it helps the novelist Alejo Carpentier to escape from Cuba, where the Machado tyrant had imprisoned it. With this one, it will be one of the pioneers of radiophonic creation in France. Since 1934, it takes part in the movement frontist and adheres to the movements intellectuals antifascists. It gives up its pacifist positions quickly, convinced that, in front of the rise of the dangers, France must prepare with the war. It is one of the rare French intellectuals to leave to the face by conviction. Thus writes he with his wife Youki, in January 1940: " I decided to withdraw war all the happiness which it can give me: the proof of health, the youth and the priceless satisfaction of emmerder Hitler."

Occupation

During the Occupation, it continues to write in the press, in particular in the daily newspaper founded by Henri Jeanson " Aujourd'hui". When this newspaper takes an orientation collaborationnist, it decides there to remain and try to continue to use its feather of journalist to try to invite his fellow-citizens with dignity and the hope. That, of the critics mockers for example of Louis-Ferdinand Celine, a slap with the collaborator Alain Laubreaux (who had insulted Jean Marais) are worth to him enmities which tried to make it pass for Juif, at one time when that was equivalent being off-set in death camps. Its journalistic activity especially enables him to cover its activities of resistant active: he is member of the Réseau TO ACT and the team of the Éditions of Midnight , founded by Vercors.

The February 22nd 1944, one informs it that the Gestapo will come to take it but he refuses that it is Youki (which takes drugs with ether) which undergoes the reprisals and possibly torture. He is imprisoned with Compiegne. In spite of the interventions of his friends, among whom Georges Suarez, director of Today , it will be off-set with the camp of Flöha in Saxony, where there will remain one year. Released, it dies out with the concentration camp of Térézin of misery, exhaustion and the Typhus, not without us to leave through his correspondence with his Youki wife, once again a lesson of courage, love and freedom. “ It is not the poetry which must be free, it is the poet ”.

Robert Desnos is buried with the Cimetière of Montparnasse to Paris.

Robert devil

In 1971, Jean Ferrat interprets Robert the devil , poem dedicated by Louis Aragon to the memory of his/her tragically missing friend. The song had been created, before, by Christine Sevres (1931 - 1981), then wife of Ferrat: I think of you Desnos which started from Compiègne
Comme one evening while sleeping you made us récit
Accomplir until the end your clean prophétie
Là-bas where the destiny of our century bleeds… Poem of Louis Aragon and music of Jean Ferrat: Ferrat sings Aragon , 1 CD, compilation, republication 1992, Barclay Records - Christine Sevres , 1 CD, compilation, republication 1994, Disques Temey.

Famous poems

the Ant , one of the poems of the collection Chantefables and Chantefleurs , was put in music, for the first time, by Joseph Kosma and recorded by Juliette Gréco in 1950: Une ant of eighteen mètres
Avec a hat on the head,
Ça does not exist, that does not exist pas.

Une ant trailing a char
Plein penguins and ducks,
Ça does not exist, that does not exist pas.

Une French ant speaking,
Parlant Latin and Javanese,
Ça does not exist, that does not exist pas.

Eh! Why not? --------------------------------------------- Pélican

Le Captain Jonathan,
Étant old of eighteen ans
Capture one day a pélican
Dans an island of Extreme-orient.

Le pelican of Jonathan
Au morning, lays an egg all blanc
Et it leaves a resembling pélican
Lui there étonnamment.

Et this second pélican
Pond, in its turn, an egg all blanc
From which leaves, inévitablement
Another, which makes autant.

Cela of it can last during very longtemps
Si one does not make front omelet.

------------------------------------------------ Extract of the Verses of the street Saint Martin's day , Waking state (1942):

Je does not like any more the street Saint-Martin
Depuis that André Platard has it quittée.
Je does not like more the street Saint Martin's day,
Je does not like anything, not even the vin.

Je does not like any more the street Saint-Martin
Depuis that André Platard has quittée.
C' is to it my friend, it is my copain.
Nous divide the room and the bread,
Je does not like any more the street Saint-Martin.

Works

Pink Sélavy (1922 - 1923)
the Pelican
Aumonyme (1923)
Language cooked (1923)
Mourning for mourning (1924)
Freedom or the Love (1927)
Darkness (1927)
Body and goods (1930)
Without neck (1934)
Fortunes (1942)
State of take care (1943)
the wine is drawn (1943)
Contrée (1944)
the Bath with Andromède (1944)
the Honor from the poets (1946)
Chantefables and chantefleurs (1970), posthumous publication
arbitrary Destinée (1975), posthumous publication
New Hebrides and other texts (1978), posthumous publication
Rue of Gaité / Voyage in Burgundy / Précis of kitchen for happy days , works illustrated by Lucien Coutaud (1947)
the Lament of Fantômas (1954), posthumous publication.

See too

the site ''' Jewish Memory and Education ''' evokes the death of Robert Desnos and the history of sound " the last poème".
the site ''' Association of the friends of Robert Desnos '''
Wikilivres: Some works of Robert Desnos

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