Jacques-Henri-Marie Prévert
(born Feb. 4, 1900, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France — died April 11, 1977, Omonville-la-Petite) French poet and screenwriter. A shop worker, he began writing after his military service. Influenced by the
Symbolist movement, he renewed the ancient tradition of oral poetry, creating "song poems" about Paris street life, collected in the anthology
Words (1945). Many were put to music and became extremely popular. His excellent screenplays for
Marcel Carné include
The Children of Paradise (1945),
Spectacle (1951), and
Things and Other Things (1972). He also worked for French television and on animated films for children.
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