Émile Goudeau (; 29 August 1849 – 18 September 1906) was a French

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

and

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

. He was the founder of the Hydropathes literary club.

Life

He was born in

Périgueux Périgueux (, ; or ) is a commune in the Dordogne department, in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. Périgueux is the prefecture of Dordogne, and the capital city of Périgord. It is also the seat of ...

, Dordogne, the son of Germain Goudeau, an architect, and cousin of

Léon Bloy Léon Bloy (; 11 July 1846 – 3 November 1917) was a French Catholic novelist, essayist, pamphleteer (or lampoonist), and satirist, known additionally for his eventual (and passionate) defense of Catholicism and for his influence within Frenc ...

. Goudeau studied at the seminary, and then was supervisor in different high schools before becoming an employee at the Ministry of Finance, which gave him the opportunity to devote most of his time to poetry. According to Maurice Donnay: Goudeau founded the Hydropathes society on 11 October 1878. According to Goudeau, the name came from the Hydropathen-valsh (Waltz of the Hydropaths) by the Hungarian-German musician Joseph Gungl. The purpose of the society was to promote the works of the members. The Hydropathes Café in the rue Cujas was a large hall that could accommodate several hundred people. The society staged evening entertainments in the form of poetry or prose readings and songs. The society published a journal for about year, starting in January 1879, containing writings and pictures by members of the society. The Hydropathes drank heavily in the bohemian way of that time, particularly green

absinthe Absinthe (, ) is an anise-flavored Liquor, spirit derived from several plants, including the flowers and leaves of ''Artemisia absinthium'' ("grand wormwood"), together with green anise, sweet fennel, and other medicinal and culinary herbs. His ...

, which was rampant. Goudeau paid his collaborators in drink, and this salary was fatal to the most gifted of them, Jules Jouy. The Hydropathic Club gave rise to the fumist movement, the word '' fumism'' itself was coined by Émile Goudeau, and Georges Fragerolle, and

Alphonse Allais Alphonse Allais (20 October 1854 in Honfleur – 28 October 1905 in Paris) was a French writer, journalist and humorist. He was also the editor of the '' Chat Noir,'' a satirical magazine. Life From 1879, Alphonse Allais attended the ″Hydrop ...

took up his invention.''

''. (biographie par François Caradec). «Œuvres anthumes». — Paris, Robert Laffont Edition S.A., 1989. — 682 p. At first the Hydropathes met on the

Left Bank In geography, a bank is the land alongside a body of water. Different structures are referred to as ''banks'' in different fields of geography. In limnology (the study of inland waters), a stream bank or river bank is the terrain alongsid ...

, but when Rodolphe Salis opened his cabaret,

Le Chat Noir (; French for "The Black Cat") was a 19th century entertainment establishment in the Montmartre district of Paris. It was opened on 18 November 1881 at 84 Boulevard de Rochechouart by impresario Rodolphe Salis, and closed in 1897 not long ...

, in December 1881, he persuaded Goudeau to move the society there. Goudeau helped Salis to launch his journal ''Le Chat Noir'', which first appeared on 14 January 1882, drawing on his experience with the Hydropathes journal. Goudeau was chief editor of ''Le Chat Noir'' from 1882 to 1884. Much of the Hydropathes' backstory -- including the name, the music, the drinking, the performances, the poetry, etc., the many poets, musicians, and performers (famous and not so famous), as well as the reasons for organizing it in the first place, -- is found in Goudeau's memoir, ''Dix ans de bohème.'' The ten years in question are most likely 1874-1884, which is from the time Goudeau first arrived in Paris (1874), "très timide de tempérament, très audacieux de volonté" ("very timid in temperament, very audacious in will"), to when he left his position of chief editor at ''Le Chat Noir'' journal.

Works

*1878: ''Fleurs du bitume'' (In English translation: ''Flowers of Bitumen'': Sunny Lou Publishing, , 2021) *1884: ''Poèmes ironiques'' (Ironic Poems) *1884: ''La Revanche des bêtes'' (Revenge of the beasts) *1885: ''La Vache enragée'' (The Angry Cow): novel *1886: ''Voyages et découvertes du célèbre A'Kempis à travers les États-Unis de Paris'' (Travels and discoveries of famous A'Kempis across the United States from Paris): Fantasy, with drawings by Henri Rivière *1887: ''Les Billets bleus'' (The Blue Tickets): novel *1887: ''Le Froc'': novel *1888: ''Dix ans de bohème'' (Ten bohemian years): memoirs, The Illustrated Library, Paris, 1888; reissued by Champ Vallon, Paris, 2000. (In English translation: ''Ten Years a Bohemian'': Sunny Lou Publishing, , 2021) *1889: ''Corruptrice'' (Corrupter): novel *1893: ''Paris qui consomme'' (The Paris who consumes) : fantasy *1896: ''Chansons de Paris et d'ailleurs'' (Songs of Paris and elsewhere) *1897: ''Poèmes parisiens'' (Parisian Poems) *1900: ''La Graine humaine'' (The Human Grain): novel

Tribute

The Place Émile-Goudeau in the

18th arrondissement of Paris The 18th arrondissement of Paris (''XVIIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements, or administrative districts, of Paris, the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is referred to as '' ...

is named in his honor. It is on

Montmartre Montmartre ( , , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement of Paris, 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Rive Droite, Right Bank. Montmartre is primarily known for its a ...

hill just below the Place du Tertre.

English-language translations

*''Flowers of Bitumen.'' Publisher: Sunny Lou Publishing, , 2021. *''Ten Years a Bohemian.'' Publisher: Sunny Lou Publishing, , 2021. *''Upside-Down Stories.'' Compiled and translated by Doug Skinner (Black Scat Books, , 2019).

References

Notes Citations Sources * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Goudeau, Emile People from Périgueux 1849 births 1906 deaths 19th-century French journalists French male poets Fumism 19th-century French poets 19th-century French male writers French male non-fiction writers