Pierre Reverdy

French poet and moralist who first reflected Cubist and then Surrealist influence.

The difficulty of Reverdy’s poems limited his audience. He founded a short-lived review, Nord-Sud (1916; “North-South”), to promote Cubism. After turning to Surrealism in the 1920s, he returned to Cubist-inspired poetic techniques. Reverdy published Étoiles peintes (1921; “Painted Stars”), Les Épaves du ciel (1924; “Shipwrecks from Heaven”), and Flaques de verre (1929; “Glass Puddles”). In 1926 he retired to the Abbey of Solesmes, remaining there until his death. In solitude he dedicated himself to a search for the spiritual meaning of the physical world, expressing this vocation in the disciplined maxims of Le Gant de crin (1927; “The Horsehair Glove”) and Le Livre de mon bord (1948; “The Book Beside Me”).

One of Reverdy’s most enduring and profound relationships was with the couturier, Coco Chanel.

He died 17 June 1960.