author
Paul Valéry
1871–1945
A major French poet and essayist, he brought rare precision and musical grace to everything he wrote. Best known for works like La Jeune Parque and Le Cimetière marin, he became one of France’s most admired literary minds.
3 Audiobooks
About the author
Born in Sète, France, on October 30, 1871, Paul Valéry grew into one of the most influential French writers of the 20th century. He was closely linked to the Symbolist tradition and was admired not only for poetry, but also for essays, criticism, dialogues, and reflections on art, thought, and language.
After writing early poems as a young man, he went through a long period in which he published little verse and devoted himself to intense intellectual work. His return to poetry brought some of his most celebrated books, including La Jeune Parque and Charmes, the collection that includes the widely praised poem Le Cimetière marin.
Valéry later became a prominent public figure in French literary life and was elected to the Académie française in 1925. He died in Paris on July 20, 1945, leaving behind a body of work that is often praised for its clarity, discipline, and deep attention to the workings of the mind.