Joseph Delteil (20 April 1894 – 16 April 1978) was a 20th-century French writer and poet.

Biography

Joseph Delteil was born in the farm of La Pradeille, from a woodcutter-charcoal father and a "buissonnière" mother. Joseph Delteil spent the first four years of his childhood at the Borie (construction of dry stones) of Guillamau, 30 kilometers south of

Carcassonne Carcassonne (, also , , ; ; la, Carcaso) is a French fortified city in the department of Aude, in the region of Occitanie. It is the prefecture of the department. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Carcassonne is located in the plain of the ...

, in the Val de Dagne. Of this hovel, today there remain only stumps of walls, which one can always see while hiking on the "Path in poetry" at the entrance of which one reads "Here the time goes on foot" created by Magalie Arnaud, mayor of Villar-en-Val, and her friends to honor the memory of the poet. In 1898, his father purchased a vineyard plot at Pieusse (30 kilometers further on the side of Limoux). This was, according to Delteil, his "native village", in the heart of the land of the Blanquette de Limoux, "where the landscape grows, from the forest to the sun, from Occitan to French ". He remained there until his

Certificat d'études primaires The certificat d'études primaires (CEP) was a diploma awarded at the end of elementary primary education in France (from 11 to 13 years inclusive until 1936) and certifying that the student had acquired basic skills in writing, reading, mathema ...

(1907), then he joined the Saint-Louis school in Limoux. He was then a student at the Collège Saint-Stanislas (small seminary) in Carcassonne. The publication in 1922 of his first novel ''Sur le fleuve Amour'' attracted the attention of

Louis Aragon Louis Aragon (, , 3 October 1897 – 24 December 1982) was a French poet who was one of the leading voices of the surrealist movement in France. He co-founded with André Breton and Philippe Soupault the surrealist review ''Littérature''. He wa ...

and Andre Breton for whom this work "compensated for so many devils to the body." Delteil collaborated with the magazine ''Literature'' and participated in the drafting of the pamphlet ''Un cadavre'' written in response to the national funeral of Anatole France (October 1924). Breton quotes him in his ''

Surrealist Manifesto Four Surrealist Manifestos are known to exist. The first two manifesto A manifesto is a published declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party or government. A manifesto usually ...

'' as one of those who have done "an act of absolute surrealism." On May 24, 1924, at the "Soirée du Claridge" where the former Russian Page Corps was giving a charity ball, a fashion show with costumes by

Sonia Delaunay Sonia Delaunay (13 November 1885 – 5 December 1979) was a French artist, who spent most of her working life in Paris. She was born in Odessa (then part of Russian Empire), and formally trained in Russian Empire and Germany before moving to Fr ...

illustrated a poem by Joseph Delteil ''La Mode qui vient''. "The appearance of this group raised the applause of the social gathering". The publication in 1925 of his ''Jeanne d'Arc'', a work rewarded by the

Prix Femina The Prix Femina is a French literary prize created in 1904 by 22 writers for the magazine '' La Vie heureuse'' (today known as '' Femina''). The prize is decided each year by an exclusively female jury. They reward French-language works written ...

, aroused the rejection of the Surrealists and of Breton in particular, in spite of the scandal caused by the anti-conformist vision Of the Maid of Orleans. For Breton, this work was a "vast shit". Delteil participated in the first issue of ''

La Révolution surréaliste ''La Révolution surréaliste'' (English: ''The Surrealist Revolution'') was a publication by the Surrealists in Paris. Twelve issues were published between 1924 and 1929. Shortly after releasing the first ''Surrealist Manifesto'', André Breton ...

'', but after an interview in which he declared that he never dreamed, he received a letter of rupture from Breton.Biro & Passeron, page 123 In 1931, he fell seriously ill and left literature and Parisian life for the south of France. In 1937, he settled in the Tuilerie de Massane (in

Grabels Grabels (; oc, Grabèls) is a commune in the Hérault département in the Occitanie region in southern France. It is located on the north west of Montpellier. Population See also *Communes of the Hérault department The following is a list ...

) near Montpellier where he led a peasant-writer life until his death, accompanied by his wife, Caroline Dudley, who was the creator of the '. In his Occitan retreat, he maintained strong friendships with writers(

Henry Miller Henry Valentine Miller (December 26, 1891 – June 7, 1980) was an American novelist. He broke with existing literary forms and developed a new type of semi-autobiographical novel that blended character study, social criticism, philosophical ref ...

,...), poets (

Frédéric Jacques Temple Frédéric Jacques Temple (18 August 1921 – 5 August 2020) was a French poet and writer. His work includes poems (collected in 1989 in a "Personal Anthology"), novels, travel stories and essays. He also realised translations of English, Thomas ...

),...), singers ( Charles Trenet, Georges Brassens), painters (

Pierre Soulages Pierre Jean Louis Germain Soulages (; 24 December 1919 – 26 October 2022) was a French painter, printmaker, and sculptor. In 2014, President François Hollande of France described him as "the world's greatest living artist." His works are held ...

), actors (

Jean-Claude Drouot Jean Claude Drouot (born 17 December 1938) is a Belgian actor whose career has lasted over a half-century. At the age of twenty-five, he gained widespread fame in the French-speaking world as a result of portraying the title role in the popular ...

,...). By publishing, in 1968, ''La Deltheillerie'', he regained some of the notoriety of the years 1920, supported by personalities like

Jacques Chancel Jacques Chancel, (Joseph André Jacques Régis Crampes; 2 July 1928 – 23 December 2014) was a French journalist and writer. He was known for being the radio host of '' Radioscopie'' and '' Le Grand Échiquier'' for 22 years. Chancel was bo ...

Jean-Louis Bory Jean-Louis Bory (25 June 1919 – 11/12 June 1979) was a French writer, journalist, and film critic. Life Jean-Louis Bory was born on 25 June 1919 in Méréville, Essonne. The son of a pharmacist and a teacher, he came from a family of teacher ...

, , and Jean-Marie Drot. He is buried, along with his wife Caroline, in the Pieusse cemetery.

Works

*1919: ''Le Cœur grec'' *1921: ''Le Cygne androgyne'' *1922: ''Sur le Fleuve Amour'' *1923: ''Choléra'' *1924: ''Les Cinq sens'' *1925: ''Jeanne d'Arc'', (novel),

) *1925: ''Le Discours aux oiseaux par Saint François d'Assise'' *1925: ''Les Poilus'' *1926: ''Mes amours...(...spirituelles)'' *1926: ''Allo ! Paris'' *1926: ''Ode à Limoux'' *1927: ''Perpignan'' *1927: ''La Jonque de porcelaine'' *1928: ''La Fayette'' *1928: ''Le Mal de cœur'' *1928: ''De J.-J. Rousseau à Mistral'' *1929: ''Il était une fois Napoléon'' *1929: ''Les Chats de Paris'' *1930: ''La Belle Corisande'' *1930: ''La Belle Aude'' *1930: ''Don Juan'' *1931: ''La Nuit des bêtes'' *1931: ''Le Vert Galant'' *1944: ''A la Belle étoile'' *1947: ''Jésus II'' *1960:''François d'Assise'' *1961: ''Œuvres complètes'' *1964: ''La Cuisine paléolithique'' - éditions

Robert Morel Robert Morel (1653 – 19 August 1731) was a French Benedictine monk. Morel was born in 1653 in La Chaise Dieu, Auvergne. He took holy orders at the abbey of Saint Faron de Meaux in 1671; was sent to the abbey of Saint Germain des Pres to finis ...

, Grand Prix international de littérature gastronomique 1965 *1968: ''La Deltheillerie'' *1976: ''Le sacré corps'' *1980: ''Correspondance privée Henry Miller-Joseph Delteil'', Paris, Pierre Belfond, 1980 (foreword, translation and notes by Frédéric Jacques Temple) *1990: ''Musée de marine'' *1994: ''Les Prisonniers de l'infini'' *1995: ''Le Maître ironique'' *2005: ''L'Homme coupé en morceaux''

Studies devoted to Joseph Delteil

André de Richaud André de Richaud (April 6, 1907 in Perpignan – September 29, 1968 in Montpellier) was a French poet and writer. After his father was killed in the First World War in 1915, his mother became a lover of a German prisoner of war, which caused him a ...

, ''Vie de saint Delteil'', Paris, La Nouvelle Société d'Édition, 1928. * Maryse Choisy, ''Delteil tout nu'', Paris, éd. Montaigne, 1930. *

Christian Chabanis Christian Chabanis (9 August 1936 – 25 April 1989) was a French writer, philosopher and journalist. Biography A journalist, essayist and novelist, he was also the author of numerous books on fundamental reflections and surveys on the place o ...

, « Joseph Delteil au cœur du monde » in ''Le Figaro Littéraire'', 30 December 1961. * Claude Schmitt, « Joseph Delteil ou l'épithète introuvable » in revue ''L'Honneur'', 1970. * Collective under the direction of Claude Schmitt, ''Delteil est au ciel !'', Alfred Eibel Éditeur, 1979. * Robert Briatte, ''Joseph Delteil'', coll. « Qui êtes-vous ? », Lyon, La Manufacture, 1988. * Jean-Marie Drot, ''Joseph Delteil prophète de l'an 2000'', Imago, 1990. * Jean-Louis Malves, ''Delteil en habit de lumière'', Éditions Loubatières, 1992 * Collectif s/d de Robert Briatte, ''Les Aventures du récit chez Joseph Delteil'', Montpellier, Éd. de la Jonque/Presses du Languedoc, 1995 * Collective under the direction of Denitza Bantcheva, ''Joseph Delteil'', coll. « Les Dossiers H », L'Âge d'homme, 1998. * Denis Wetterwald, ''Joseph Delteil. Les escales d'un marin étrusque'', Christian Pirot éditeur, 1999. * , ''Joseph Delteil brille pour tout le monde'', Samuel Tastet éditeur, 2006. * Marie-Françoise Lemonnier-Delpy, ''Joseph Delteil : une œuvre épique au XXe, destinées du héros et révolution du récit'', Éditions IDECO, 2006. * « Les Riches heures de Joseph Delteil » Metz, imprimerie Jean Vodaine, 1977. Triple issue (23,24,25) of the journal ''Dire''. Typographie au plomb par Arthur Praillet. Pur chiffon de Lana. 50 copies.

References

External links

Site entirely devoted to Joseph Delteil
{{DEFAULTSORT:Delteil, Joseph 20th-century French poets French male poets Prix Femina winners Surrealist poets 1894 births People from Aude 1978 deaths 20th-century French male writers