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Paul Valéry

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Paul Valéry


Born
in Sète, France
October 30, 1871

Died
July 20, 1945

Genre
Poetry, Nonfiction, Literature & Fiction

Influences
Stéphane Mallarmé, Wolfgang Goethe, Charles Baudelaire, Leonardo da Vi ...more


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 ...more

Combine Editions

Average rating: 3.85 · 5,547 ratings · 537 reviews · 562 distinct works • Similar authors
Monsieur Teste
3.81 avg rating — 786 ratings — published 1896 — 12 editions
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El cementerio marino
by
3.85 avg rating — 509 ratings — published 1920 — 9 editions
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Selected Writings
4.14 avg rating — 390 ratings — published 1950 — 10 editions
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Poésies
3.95 avg rating — 243 ratings — published 1949 — 35 editions
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La Jeune Parque
by
3.64 avg rating — 136 ratings — published 1917 — 31 editions
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Degas Danse Dessin
4.01 avg rating — 123 ratings — published 1938 — 27 editions
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Dialogues
by
4.39 avg rating — 102 ratings — published 1956 — 15 editions
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The Art of Poetry
4.27 avg rating — 97 ratings — published 1958 — 23 editions
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Eupalinos o el arquitecto
by
3.84 avg rating — 97 ratings — 26 editions
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قصائد ساحرة
by
3.78 avg rating — 96 ratings — published 1922 — 45 editions
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More books by Paul Valéry…
Quotes by Paul Valéry  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“Poems are never finished - just abandoned”
― Paul Valery
tags: poem, writing
485 likes
Like

“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
314 likes
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“Politeness is organized indifference.”
― Paul Valéry
tags: indifference, life, politeness
290 likes
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