Gérald Neveu (August 10, 1921,

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

- February 28, 1960,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

) was a French

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 ...

. Called by some "one of the gentlest poètes maudits", he was born to Louis Neveu and Marthe Bonnaud in Marseille. Having lost his family and job and having become an alcoholic, he lived as a hobo and dreamer in Marseille sleeping in friends' studios,

homeless shelter Homeless shelters are a type of service and total institution that provides temporary residence for homelessness, homeless individuals and families. Shelters exist to provide residents with safety and protection from exposure to the weather whi ...

s or psychiatric clinics (together with

Artaud Antoine Maria Joseph Paul Artaud (; ; 4September 18964March 1948), better known as Antonin Artaud, was a French artist who worked across a variety of media. He is best known for his writings, as well as his work in the theatre and cinema. Widely ...

he went through electroshocks). Since 1947 he was a member of the

French Communist Party The French Communist Party (, , PCF) is a Communism, communist list of political parties in France, party in France. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its Member of the European Parliament, MEPs sit with The Left in the ...

. In 1950 he befriended Jean Malrieu with whom he created the magazine '' Action poétique''. A few months before his death he came to Paris where he was found dead one day; the cause of his death remains unknown. His wallet contained only a piece of paper saying "without hair, without teeth, without money, without a woman, without an apartment etc."Slavík, Ivan, ''Rozklenout srázné'', p. 86; Olomouc 1993

Selected bibliography

He worked with the famous review '' Les Cahiers du Sud'' and also with Action Poétique. *1960: ''Les Sept commandements'' *1967: ''Fournaise obscure'' *1973: ''Une solitude essentielle'' *1992: ''Poèmes 1945-1960'' *1993: ''Comme les loups vont au désir : toujours pour toi'', Éditions Comp'act, Seyssel

References and external links

Gérald Neveu, in French
1921 births 1960 deaths Writers from Marseille Poètes maudits 20th-century French poets French male poets 20th-century French male writers {{France-poet-stub