Author Jean Genet was born on this day in 1910
Jean Genet had a tough start at life. Born in Paris in 1910, his mother put him up for adoption when he was seven months old. He often ran away from home and when his foster mother passed away he was taken in by an elderly couple. He didn’t stay with them for long, reportedly he squandered some money he was meant to be delivering to someone else, and was often going out late at night and shocking his new foster parents by wearing make up.
At the age of 15 he was sent to prison, a period who would later recount in his novel Miracle of the Rose. After his time in prison he joined the Foreign Legion when he was 18, but was discharged after he was caught engaging on a homosexual act. He then spent time as a vagabond getting by through theft and sex work across Europe.
He returned to Paris in 1937 and spent time in and out of jail for petty offences. While serving time in prison he wrote his first poem which he later self published and his first novel Our Lady of the Flowers.
Genet introduced himself to Jean Cocteau who was impressed with his writing and helped him get his first novel published. Later when authorities threatened Genet with a life time sentence for his multiple return visits to prison Cocteau rallied other prominent artists including Pablo Picasso and Jean-Paul Sartre to appeal to the French President to show leniency. Genet would never return to prison after this.
Instead, his literary career flourished, he wrote many novels and plays that were often noted for their explicit portrayals of homosexuality and criminal activities. In the late 1950’s he also directed a short black and white film which depicted the sexual fantasies of a male prisoner and his prison warden.
From the 1960’s Genet became politically active visiting the Black Panthers in the USA, and spent time in Palestinian Refugee camps where he met Yasser Arafat.
In 1982 filmmaker Rainer Fassbender’s final film was released Querelle, based on Genet’s book Querelle of Brest. Several of books, plays and short stories were turned into films and Todd Hayes 1991 film Poison is based on the writings of Genet. David Bowie’s song The Jean Genie is also inspired by Jean Genet.
The author passed away in 1986 aged 75, he had been diagnosed with throat cancer but it is believed he may have died as the result of a fall.
OIP Staff, this post was first published in 2020. Image: Jean Genet at the Imperial Hotel in Paris in 1983 from the International Press Association. Published via a Creative Commons CC BY-SA 3.0 license.
