Robert Desnos

French poet Robert Desnos (1900-1945) was introduced to Paris Dada and André Breton through poet Benjamin Péret in 1919, and became an active member of the Surrealist group, known in particular for automatic writing. Desnos's circle included leades of the literary vanguard Louis Aragon and Paul Éluard, as well as Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, Antonin Artaud, and John Dos Passos. In 1929, due to political differences, Breton removed Desnos from the Surrealists' ranks. Desnos then joined Georges Bataille and Documents, signing an attack on Breton. Besides his numerous collections of poems, he wrote reviews of jazz and cinema, published three novels, worked in radio, and wrote the script for a film by Man Ray (L'étoile de mer, 1928). During World War II, Desnos was an active member of the French Resistance. He was arrested by the Gestapo in late February 1944, deported to Auschwitz, then Buchenwald, and finally to Terezín where he died of typhoid.