The Yale Anthology of Twentieth-Century French Poetry

Paul Éluard (Eugène Grindel) 1895–1952

saint-denis, france

É

luard is celebrated as the author of some of the best Surrealist poetry. In

his verse, the play of dualities is always evident. He was also associated

with the French Dadaists, such as Breton, Aragon, and Soupault, before

Surrealism had been codified. Éluard broke with Surrealism in 1938 after a dis-

agreement with Breton; like many Surrealists, he was a member of the Commu-

nist Party. Like Aragon and unlike Breton, he remained with the party faithful.

He met his first love, Gala (Elena Dimitrievna Diakonova)—who had been asso-

ciated with Max Ernst and was to leave Éluard for Salvador Dalí—and wrote his

first lines of poetry while recuperating from tuberculosis in a Swiss sanitarium.

The singer-actress Maria Benz, known as Nusch Éluard after their marriage,

would serve as muse for three of his poetry collections. Like Soupault, he was

especially drawn to popular poetry and sayings, aphorisms and maxims. During

the German Occupation, Éluard took part in the Resistance through his ener-

getic and militant writings, produced clandestinely at the risk of arrest. Principal

works: Le Devoir et l’inquiétude, 1917; Poèmes pour la paix, 1918; Les Animaux et

leurs hommes, les hommes et leurs animaux, 1920; Pour vivre ici, 1920; Les Néces-

sités de la vie et les conséquences des rêves, 1921; Les Malheurs des immortels, 1922;

Répétitions, 1922; Mourir de ne pas mourir, 1924; Capitale de la douleur, 1926; Le

Temps déborde, 1927; L’Amour la poésie, 1929; Ralentir travaux (with Breton and

Char), 1930; La Vie immédiate, 1932; Les Yeux fertiles, 1936; Cours naturel, 1938; Le

Livre ouvert, 1938–1944; Donner à voir, 1939; Le Dur Désir de durer, 1946; Pouvoir

tout dire, 1951.

Loving

She is standing on my eyelids
And her hair is in my hair,
She has the shape of my hands,
The color of my eyes,
She is absorbed in my shadow
Like a stone within the sky.