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

Biography

Joseph Delteil was born on 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 kilometres south of

Carcassonne Carcassonne is a French defensive wall, fortified city in the Departments of France, department of Aude, Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania. It is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the department. ...

, 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 honour the memory of the poet. In 1898, his father purchased a vineyard plot at Pieusse (30 kilometres 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 Limoux wine is produced around Limoux in Languedoc in southwestern France. Limoux wine is produced under four ''Appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (AOC) designations: Blanquette de Limoux, Blanquette méthode ancestrale, Crémant de Limoux and ...

, "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 Limoux (; ) is a commune and subprefecture in the Aude department, a part of the ancient Languedoc province and the present-day Occitanie region in southern France. Its vineyards are famous for being first to produce sparkling wine known ...

. 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 Surrealism, surrealist movement in France. He co-founded with André Breton and Philippe Soupault the surrealist review ''Littératur ...

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 (; born ; 16 April 1844 – 12 October 1924) was a French poet, journalist, and novelist with several best-sellers. Ironic and skeptical, he was considered in his day the ideal French man of letters.Surrealist Manifesto The Surrealist Manifesto refers to several publications by Yvan Goll and André Breton, leaders of rival Surrealism, surrealist groups. Goll and Breton both published manifestos in October 1924 titled ''Manifeste du surréalisme''. Breton wrote ...

'' as one of those who have done "an act of absolute surrealism." On 24 May 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 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 List of literary awards, literary prize awarded each year by an exclusively female jury. The prize, which was established in 1904, is awarded to French-language works written in prose or Verse (poetry), verse by male ...

, 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 Bret ...

'', 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) 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, short story writer and essayist. He broke with existing literary forms and developed a new type of semi-autobiographical novel that blended character study, so ...

), poets ( Frédéric Jacques Temple)), singers (

Charles Trenet Louis Charles Augustin Georges Trenet (; 18 May 1913 – 19 February 2001) was a renowned French singer-songwriter who composed both the music and the lyrics for nearly 1,000 songs over a career that lasted more than 60 years. These songs inclu ...

, Georges Brassens), painters ( Pierre Soulages), and actors ( Jean-Claude Drouot). By publishing ''La Deltheillerie'' in 1968, he regained some of the notoriety of 1920, supported by personalities like Jacques Chancel,

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 teach ...

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