Sans-Titre, 2004

André Verdet  

André Verdet, born August 4, 1913 in Nice, and died in Saint-Paul-de-Vence on December 19, 2004, is a French poet, painter, sculptor, ceramist, jazz musician. He took part in the Resistance during the Second World War, was arrested by the Gestapo in 1944, imprisoned in Fresnes, sent to the camps of Compiègne, Auschwitz and Buchenwald, then released in 1945. He was the friend of the greatest : Giono, Cocteau, Picasso, Prévert, Miro, Chagall. He collaborated with Jacques Prévert "Histoires" and "C'est à Saint-Paul de Vence". In this last collection, Prévert pays homage to him with the longest poem he has ever published. For his part, he wrote more than 240 books "Le Fruit et le Noyau" (1955), "Provence noire" (1955), "Le Pays natal" (1962). In 2002, he was honored by the world of song by receiving the Grand Prix des Poètes 2002 from SACEM. He wrote songs set to music by Henri Crolla and sung by Yves Montand, Mouluodji, Stéphane Varégues.