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Primarily a poet, his first works appeared in 1917, two years before he met Benjamin Péret, who introduced him to the Paris Dada group and to André Breton. He was an active member of the Surrealist group while remaining a journalist on Paris-Soir. After splitting with the Surrealists, he joined Bataille and Documents and was one of the authors of Un cadavre which attacked "le boeuf Breton." His career in radio began in 1932, and he became friendly with Artaud, Picasso, and also Hemmingway and John Dos Pasos. A lover of music, especially jazz, and of cinema, he wrote many critical texts on film as well as numerous scenarios. He was active in the resistance during the war, and was arrested in 1944 and deported to Buchenwald, then Térézine, where he died of exhaustion following typhus a few weeks after the camp's liberation. He wrote for many reviews, including Littérature, La Révolution surréaliste, and Variétés. His principle publications include various poetry collections and three novels, the first two being available in English from Atlas Press: Deuil pour deuil (1924), La Liberté ou l'amour! (1917) and Le vin est tiré (1943).