Joseph Delteil in the Aude

Joseph Delteil was a French writer close to the surrealist mouvement, who, having been the darling of the Parisien intellectual milieu, then championed a more primitive style, dominated by nature and instinct.

Joseph Delteil was a French writer close to the surrealist mouvement, who, having been the darling of the Parisien intellectual milieu, then championed a more primitive style, dominated by nature and instinct.

Born in the Aude, he moved to Paris in 1920, where his first novels (Sur le fleuve Amour, 1923 ; les Cinq Sens, 1923) received an enthusiastic response from the surrealists, who were charmed by his off-beat humour and the persuasive sensuality of his prose.

The Poetry Trail

In August 1994 the village of Villar en Val celebrated the centenary of Delteil’s birth. This bucolic and poetic fête is now an annual event that takes place early in August, and the Office National des Forêts has opened a trail in the Villar woods that leads to the charcoal-burner’s hut where Joseph Delteil spent his childhood. This has become a sort of Poetry Trail where Joseph Delteil’s words can be read in the middle of nature, and in the sun-shine.

The Aude as seen by Joseph Delteil

Pieusse is another village where Joseph Delteil lived as a child. There, in that scrum of tall houses, hanging onto the flanks of the valley and suspended above the river, a mixture of anxiousness and impertinence, a seigniory that once belonged to the Count de Foix, a grand Cathar assembly was held that consecrated Benoît de Termes as Bishop de Razès and adored the pure according to the rites. Amongst the streets, in a little alley, with luck you’ll find a small wine-maker’s house, bearing a plaque quoting the author, “Over there, near Limoux, there’s a village they call Pieusse. That’s my country, where I’m from.”

At Villar en Val, the 11th century church – remarkable for its roman choir and lombardian arches – has a visitors’ exhibition given over to Joseph Delteil (1894-1978), poet and romantic author.