What do you think?
Rate this book
Professional Secrets
hardcover
- GenresFrance
331 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1970
3 people are currently reading
195 people want to read
About the author
Jean Cocteau
576 books898 followersJean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, novelist, dramatist, designer, boxing manager, playwright and filmmaker. Along with other Surrealists of his generation (Jean Anouilh and René Char for example) Cocteau grappled with the "algebra" of verbal codes old and new, mise en scène language and technologies of modernism to create a paradox: a classical avant-garde. His circle of associates, friends and lovers included Jean Marais, Henri Bernstein, Colette, Édith Piaf, whom he cast in one of his one act plays entitled Le Bel Indifferent in 1940, and Raymond Radiguet.
His work was played out in the theatrical world of the Grands Theatres, the Boulevards and beyond during the Parisian epoque he both lived through and helped define and create. His versatile, unconventional approach and enormous output brought him international acclaim.
His work was played out in the theatrical world of the Grands Theatres, the Boulevards and beyond during the Parisian epoque he both lived through and helped define and create. His versatile, unconventional approach and enormous output brought him international acclaim.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 12, 2022
The full title is Professional Secrets: An Autobiography of Jean Cocteau. Note: an autobiography of, not by, Cocteau. This work, appearing several years after Cocteau's death in 1963, is "Drawn from his Lifetime Writings, by Robert Phelps." Autobiographical passages from various of Cocteau's writings are arranged in roughly chronological order so that the book begins with his memories of childhood, and ends with his comments on his aging. Along the way, Cocteau reflects on work, friends, love and life.
And he did lead an interesting life. He wrote poetry, fiction and plays, and wrote and directed several feature films. He was a world traveler, at one point recreating for the Paris-Soir the travelings of Phileas Fogg, of Jules Verne's Around-the-World-in-80-Days. Among Cocteau's friends were Pablo Picasso, Marcel Proust and Colette. At one point, he became addicted to opium and had to enter a detox program. While directing La Belle et la Bete (1946), he kept a diary, in which he wrote of the struggles he and his cast and crew experienced while trying to get the film made.
Cocteau's writing is poetic, steeped in imagery and metaphor. Particularly in the early parts of the book, as Cocteau describes his work in the theatre, there is a lot of glitter and sparkle in the writing, as if each sentence were a precious stone a jeweler was turning this way and that to show how its facets catch and reflect the light.
A couple of highlights for me are the poetic-mythic description of a bullfight and the retelling of a tale by Keats (the latter is hardly autobiographical, but it is a highly entertaining piece of writing).
Acquired 1998
"AP"
Used book store in Montreal, Quebec
And he did lead an interesting life. He wrote poetry, fiction and plays, and wrote and directed several feature films. He was a world traveler, at one point recreating for the Paris-Soir the travelings of Phileas Fogg, of Jules Verne's Around-the-World-in-80-Days. Among Cocteau's friends were Pablo Picasso, Marcel Proust and Colette. At one point, he became addicted to opium and had to enter a detox program. While directing La Belle et la Bete (1946), he kept a diary, in which he wrote of the struggles he and his cast and crew experienced while trying to get the film made.
Cocteau's writing is poetic, steeped in imagery and metaphor. Particularly in the early parts of the book, as Cocteau describes his work in the theatre, there is a lot of glitter and sparkle in the writing, as if each sentence were a precious stone a jeweler was turning this way and that to show how its facets catch and reflect the light.
A couple of highlights for me are the poetic-mythic description of a bullfight and the retelling of a tale by Keats (the latter is hardly autobiographical, but it is a highly entertaining piece of writing).
Acquired 1998
"AP"
Used book store in Montreal, Quebec
Currently reading
September 1, 2008Jean Cocteau about himself. Phelps has delved into Cocteau's writings and come up with a tantalizing portrait, especially the early years.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews