Cocteau, Jean

(1889-1963)

   writer

   A leading and influential French writer, poet, novelist, dramatist, designer, painter, and filmmaker, Jean Cocteau was born in Maisons-Laffitte, near Paris. He was a poor student who early dropped out of school, but at age 16, he met the actor Edouard de Max, who launched his career as a poet. Cocteau gave a reading of his work in 1908 and his first volume of verse, La lampe d'Aladin, which appeared the next year, quickly established him as an important writer. Eventually, Cocteau's versatility, unconven-tionality, and enormous output in virtually all artistic and literary fields brought him international acclaim. Despite this, he insisted that he was essentially a poet and that all of his work was poetry. As a leading member of the surrealist movement, he would also have great influence on the work of many others. Cultivating the friendship of many diverse individuals, Cocteau soon broadened his views and areas of productivity. In 1909, he met the impresario Sergey Diaghilev, who encouraged him to create ballet scenarios. During World War I, Cocteau served as an ambulance driver and, during that period, met Guillaume appolinaire, Pablo Picasso, Amedeo Modigliani, and many other writers and artists with whom he later collaborated or who influenced his work. He was also inspired by the writings of Stéphane mallarmé and arthur rimbaud. His first novels were Le Potomak (1913), Thomas l'Imposteur (1922), and Le Grand Écart (1923). In 1923, he became addicted to opium after the tragic death of his companion, Raymond Radiquet. He described his recovery in Opium: journal d'un désintoxication (1930). During his recovery he produced other major works, including the dramas Orphée (1926), based on his favorite Greek myth, and La machine infernale (1934), and a novel, Les enfants terribles (1929), and his first film, Le sang d'un poète (1930). His films, most of which he wrote and directed, were instrumental in bringing surrealism to French cinema. A number of them, in particular La belle et la bête (1945), Orphée (1950), Les enfants terribles (1950), and Le testimentd'Orphée (1959), are regarded as modern classics. He was elected to the adadémie française in 1955.