Paul Valéry

author

Paul Valéry

1871–1945

A leading French poet, essayist, and thinker of the early 20th century, he is best known for the musical, intellectually rich poem "Le Cimetière marin" and for writing with unusual precision about art, language, and the mind. After an early burst of poetry, he spent years in near silence before returning to literature and becoming one of France’s most influential literary voices.

3 Audiobooks

Charmes

Charmes

by Paul Valéry

Variété I

Variété I

by Paul Valéry

Introduction à la méthode de Léonard de Vinci

Introduction à la méthode de Léonard de Vinci

by Paul Valéry

About the author

Born in Sète, France, in 1871, Paul Valéry grew into one of the country’s most admired writers. He first made his name as a young poet linked to the Symbolist circle, but after a personal and artistic crisis in the 1890s, he stepped away from publishing poetry for many years and devoted himself to notebooks, reflection, and intellectual study.

When he returned to literature in the 1910s, his work quickly drew wide attention. His long poem La Jeune Parque helped reestablish his reputation, and Le Cimetière marin became his most celebrated poem. Alongside poetry, he wrote essays and prose on literature, creativity, politics, science, and the workings of thought, earning a reputation for clarity, elegance, and disciplined intelligence.

Valéry later became a major public literary figure in France and was elected to the Académie française. He died in 1945, but his poems, essays, and famous notebooks still attract readers who enjoy writing that is both beautiful and deeply reflective.