French Literature Reviews - 2026

C. Aurouet, L'Amitié selon Prévert
Writers: Biography, Letters and Memoirs

Carole Aurouet, L'Amitié selon Prévert

Paris: Les éditions Textuel, 2012.

EAN 9782845974548

19 p.

19 EUR

Publisher's overview:

Birthdays, appointments, dinners with friends—Prévert placed friendship at the very center of his life. Starting in the late 1950s, after settling in Cité Véron, he made a daily habit of creating a wonderful illustrated calendar: a brightly colored, felt-tip flower accompanied by the names and often the occasions of his meetings. The gesture is magnificent, the procession of names dizzying...
True to form, Prévert reveals himself to be both playful and endearing. Under his mischievous pen, Paul Grimault takes on the appearance of a big yellow cat, dinners are indicated by a set place setting, and the days follow one another in a curious typographical dance blending letters and colors.

Gathered into a bouquet bursting with color and life, Prévert's calendar pages are published here for the first time. Through a gallery of sixteen short portraits, Carole Aurouet recounts the bonds that united Prévert with each of his friends. As we turn the pages, we encounter his close companions, intimate confidants, and inseparable allies: Arletty, Maurice Baquet, René Bertelé, Pierre Brasseur, Henri Crolla, Robert Doisneau, Marcel Duhamel, Jean Gabin, Paul Grimault, Joan Mirò, Aimé Maeght, Edith Piaf, Marcel Mouloudji, Pablo Picasso, Pierre Prévert, Simone Signoret, Alexandre Trauner, and Boris Vian. An entire era thus parades before our eyes—vibrant, creative, and eclectic.

An ode to friendship in a charming, hardcover pocket format at an affordable price: the ideal gift to express friendship with flowers.

Author's biography:

Carole Aurouet is a senior lecturer at the University of Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée and a specialist in the work of Jacques Prévert. She contributed to the exhibition catalog Jacques Prévert, Paris la belle (Flammarion, 2008) and is the author of Jacques Prévert. L’humour de l’art (Naïve, 2007), Prévert. Portrait d’une vie (Ramsay, 2007), and Les Scénarios de Jacques Prévert (Dreamland, 2008).

Jacques Prévert remains one of the most distinctive voices in twentieth-century French poetry and artistic culture, celebrated for his accessible style, playful linguistic inventiveness, and deep association with popular artistic circles. His work consistently bridged traditional boundaries between poetry, cinema, and the visual arts, reflecting a bohemian ethos deeply rooted in Parisian creative communities. Studies focusing on his personal relationships and creative networks illuminate the collaborative spirit that defined post-war French artistic movements, highlighting how companionship nurtured his unique worldview and sustained his diverse creative output across media.

Carole Aurouet examines how Prévert placed friendship at the center of his life, utilizing newly published calendar pages and illustrated portraits to trace his connections with prominent cultural figures of his era. Readers interested in mid-century French artistic history and the biography of Jacques Prévert may find this volume relevant.