Born in a working-class family, he became a delivery boy at age 12, then a metal worker. In 1929 he published a novel,
Zig-zag, inspired by the
surrealist movement, which brought him to the attention of
Henri Barbusse. During the 1930s he wrote for
Monde, a pro-communist newspaper, as a critic. He also co-authored short, sometimes intimate essays with his wife Else Reichman. The latter was an Austrian expatriate who held a PhD in literature but suffered from melanoma. A strong proponent of working-class literature, he founded "Le groupe des écrivains prolétariens" (The Group of Working-Class Writers) in 1932. For a short period he hosted a literary radio talkshow on National Radio. During the 1960s he wrote for the "Figaro littéraire" (the weekly literary supplement to the daily newspaper
Le Figaro). In 1970 he was awarded the
Grand Prix Poncetton for his work in general. == Works ==