Paul Valéry


Born
in Sète, France
October 30, 1871

Died
July 20, 1945

Genre

Influences


Ambroise-Paul-Toussaint-Jules Valéry was a French poet, essayist, and philosopher. His interests were sufficiently broad that he can be classified as a polymath. In addition to his fiction (poetry, drama and dialogues), he also wrote many essays and aphorisms on art, history, letters, music, and current events.

Valéry is best known as a poet, and is sometimes considered to be the last of the French Symbolists. But he published fewer than a hundred poems, and none that drew much attention. On the night of 4 October 1892, during a heavy storm, Paul Valéry entered an existential crisis, which made a big impact on his writing career. Around 1898, his writing activity even came to a near-standstill, due partly to the death of his mentor Stéphane
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Average rating: 3.96 · 2,522 ratings · 175 reviews · 247 distinct works • Similar authors
Selected Writings

4.17 avg rating — 326 ratings — published 1950
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Monsieur Teste

4.01 avg rating — 403 ratings — published 1896 — 41 editions
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Dialogues

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4.45 avg rating — 105 ratings — published 1956 — 5 editions
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El cementerio marino

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3.88 avg rating — 202 ratings — published 1922 — 27 editions
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Poésies

4.06 avg rating — 108 ratings — published 1966 — 7 editions
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The Art of Poetry

4.30 avg rating — 81 ratings — published 1958 — 10 editions
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An Anthology

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4.27 avg rating — 59 ratings — published 1976 — 4 editions
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La Jeune Parque

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3.68 avg rating — 77 ratings — published 1917 — 6 editions
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Sea Shells

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3.90 avg rating — 42 ratings — published 1937 — 4 editions
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Eupalinos ; L'âme et la dan...

3.83 avg rating — 75 ratings — published 1938 — 10 editions
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More books by Paul Valéry…
“Poems are never finished - just abandoned”
― Paul Valery

“Le vent se lève! . . . il faut tenter de vivre!
L'air immense ouvre et referme mon livre,
La vague en poudre ose jaillir des rocs!
Envolez-vous, pages tout éblouies!
Rompez, vagues! Rompez d'eaux réjouies
Ce toit tranquille où picoraient des focs!”
― Paul Valéry, Le cimetière marin / El cementerio marino

“Politeness is organized indifference.”
― Paul Valéry

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