Tristan Derème (February 13, 1889 – October 24, 1941), born Philippe Huc, 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 ...

and writer. He had lived in

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 ...

, but would often return to

Oloron-Sainte-Marie Oloron-Sainte-Marie (; ; ) is a commune in the southwestern French department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques. History The town was founded by the Romans in the 1st century, then known as ''Illoronensium''. Situated on the Roman way between the ...

, where his mother lived. There, he would recuperate through writing poetry.

Career as a politician

After being mobilized in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he became Secretary of the Deputy to Achille Armand Fould, which he continued until joining the Ministry for Agriculture (1930–1932). As he began his career in political office, he became friends with

Louis Barthou Jean Louis Barthou (; 25 August 1862 – 9 October 1934) was a French politician of the French Third Republic, Third Republic who served as Prime Minister of France for eight months in 1913. In social policy, his time as prime minister saw the ...

, Deputy of Oloron-Sainte-Marie, President of the Council and several times Minister for the Third Republic. During the beginning of his political career, he actively corresponded with

Francis Jammes Francis Jammes (; 2 December 1868, in Tournay, Hautes-Pyrénées, Tournay – 1 November 1938, in Hasparren) was a French and European poet. He spent most of his life in his native region of Béarn and the Northern Basque Country, Basque Country ...

who he had met in

Béarn Béarn (; ; or ''Biarn''; or ''Biarno''; or ''Bearnia'') is one of the traditional provinces of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in Southwestern France. Along with the three Northern Basque Country, ...

Career as a writer

In 1906, Huc forged binding friendships with both Francis Carco and Robert de la Vaissière: They would later come together to create '' l'Ecole Fantaisiste'' (''The Fantasy School''). Then, in 1908, he became an editor for two magazines--'' Hélios'' and '' l'Oliphant''. At that time, he adopted his pseudonym, Tristan Derème. In the years leading up to World War I, ''The Fantasy School'' attracted talented individuals like

Paul-Jean Toulet Paul-Jean Toulet (5 June 1867, Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques - 6 September 1920) was a French poet, novelist and feuilleton writer. Life and works Paul-Jean Toulet was the son of a wealthy sugar planter, originally from Pau but living in Maurit ...

Jean-Marc Bernard Jean-Marc is a French masculine given name. It may refer to: * Jean-Marc Adjovi-Bocco (born 1963), Beninese former football player * Jean-Marc Ayrault (born 1950), French politician * Jean-Marc Barr (born 1960), French-American film actor and dir ...

, Jean Pellerin,

Francis Carco Francis Carco (born François Carcopino-Tusoli) (3 July 1886 – 26 May 1958) was a French author, born at Nouméa, New Caledonia. He was a poet, belonging to the ''Fantaisiste'' school, a novelist, a dramatist, and art critic for ''L'Homme libre ...

Leon Vérane Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...

, Robert de la Vaissière, Rene Bizet, and

Noël Ruet Noel or Noël may refer to: Christmas * , French for Christmas * Noel is another name for a Christmas carol Places * Noel, Missouri, United States, a city *Noel, Nova Scotia, Canada, a community *Noel Park, a suburb in Greater London, Engla ...

. In 1922, he was nominated for membership in ''

La Pléiade La Pléiade () was a group of 16th-century French Renaissance poets whose principal members were Pierre de Ronsard, Joachim du Bellay and Jean-Antoine de Baïf. The name was a reference to another literary group, the original Alexandrian Pleia ...

'', along with

Charles Maurras Charles-Marie-Photius Maurras (; ; 20 April 1868 – 16 November 1952) was a French author, politician, poet and critic. He was an organiser and principal philosopher of ''Action Française'', a political movement that was monarchist, corporatis ...

Anna de Noailles Anna, Comtesse Mathieu de Noailles (Anna Elisabeth Bibesco-Bassaraba de Brancovan; ; 15 November 1876 – 30 April 1933) was a French writer of Romanian, Greek and Bulgarian descent, a poet and a socialist feminist. She was the only female poet ...

, and

Paul Valéry Ambroise Paul Toussaint Jules Valéry (; 30 October 1871 – 20 July 1945) was a French poet, essayist, and philosopher. In addition to his poetry and fiction (drama and dialogues), his interests included aphorisms on art, history, letters, m ...

. A year later, he would meet

Béatrix Dassane ''Béatrix'' is an 1839 novel by French people, French author Honoré de Balzac (1799–1850) and included in the ''Scènes de la vie privée'' section of his novel sequence ''La Comédie humaine''. It first appeared in the periodical ''Le Sièc ...

, the Clymène of his poems. Four years after that, he began writing a column in ''

Le Figaro () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It was named after Figaro, a character in several plays by polymath Pierre Beaumarchais, Beaumarchais (1732–1799): ''Le Barbier de Séville'', ''The Guilty Mother, La Mère coupable'', ...

'' with a weekly headline, which would last until 1929. In 1938, he received the grand prize for literature from the

French Academy French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

Works

Several collections of poetry, including: * ''

La Verdure dorée LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music *La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smit ...

'' : 1922 * '' L'Enlèvement sans clair de lune'' : 1925 * '' Le Zodiaque - ou les Etoiles sur Paris'' : 1927 * ''

Poèmes des colombes ''Poèmes'' is a 2012 album of French songs sung by operatic soprano Renée Fleming. Ravel's '' Shéhérazade'' (1903) and Messiaen's ''Poèmes pour Mi'' (1936) are followed by two sets of songs by Henri Dutilleux. He transcribed '' Deux sonnets ...

'' : 1929 * ''

Patachou, Petit Garçon ''Patachou, Petit Garçon'' (published in 1929) is a collection of articles, prose, and poems by Tristan Derème about the everyday life of a curious and mischievous child. It is a probable inspiration for ''Le Petit Prince'' by Antoine de Saint-Ex ...

'' : 1929

References

External links

* * * People from Marmande 1889 births 1941 deaths French male poets 20th-century French poets 20th-century French male writers {{France-poet-stub