L’œuvre de Jean Cocteau a en grande partie été publiée chez Grasset et est rassemblée ici pour la première fois en un seul volume. Bernard Grasset a entre autres publié les deux chefs-d’œuvre que sont le roman Les Enfants terribles et les Portraits-souvenir. L’un, roman mythique, l’autre, modèle de mémoires poétiques, ces deux livres suffiraient à la gloire de n’importe quel auteur. Ce sont bien d’autres grands livres qu’a publiés Cocteau rue des Saints-Pères : le Journal d’un inconnu, Démarche d’un poète, La Machine infernale, tous marqués de la marque étoilée, scintillante, unique et immédiatement reconnaissable du « ton Cocteau ».
L’ouvrage comprend un livre qui n'a pas été réédité depuis 1953, rassemblant les articles de Cocteau pour Paris-Jour, avec en particulier un éblouissant récit du défilé de la Victoire en 1919, Carte blanche, ainsi qu’une chrono-biographie.
En couverture, un autoportrait inédit de Cocteau.
Préface de Charles Dantzig
Le livre, ainsi que l'ouvrage pour enfants Drôle de ménage, est publié à l'occasion du soixantème annivervaire de la mort de Cocteau (octobre 2023), concomitamment avec les Œuvres complètes de Radiguet (centième anniversaire de sa mort).

The meaning of poetry and the sociological and political significance of art are dealt with in these letters.

A magnificent collection of plays by Cocteau, this set includes Orpheus, Oedipus Rex, and a preposterous execution of Knights Of The Round Table. Most outstanding is the surreal Eiffel Tower, in which inanimate objects possess mortal properties, and subsequently performing a play within a play. More comprehensive than what he put to film, nevertheless Cocteau writes in a minimalist mark that makes this book a fast yet enjoyable read. Also check out the novels Les Enfant Terrible and Opium.

This posthumous collection of writings illuminates Cocteau's own work for the cinema with detailed discussions of his aims, responses to criticism and his reflections on the relationship between poetry, theatre and film. He also comments on the movie stars he admires-Marlene Dietrich, James Dean, Brigitte Bardot-together with such great directors as Charlie Chaplin and Orson Welles.

The literary and cinematic legend gives his no-holds-barred account of a dangerous addiction.In this classic study Cocteau vividly describes his extraordinary experiences while taking opium, the drug to which he owed his 'perfect hours' but which, inevitably, exacted its price. It also contains reminiscences of some of Cocteau's closet friends, including Nijinsky and Marcel Proust, and provides revealing insights into the creation of such masterpieces as Orphee and Les Enfants terribles.

At one traumatic stage in his life, Cocteau became addicted to opium. Here he describes not only his extraordinary experiences when taking the drug, but also his sufferings while being treated for opium poisoning. Cocteau also reminisces about some of his closest friends, including Nijinsky and Proust, and provides revealing insights into his own life and the creation of some of his masterpieces.

Reflections on life and art from the legendary filmmaker-novelist-poet-genius.
By the time he published The Difficulty of Being in 1947, Jean Cocteau had produced some of the most respected films and literature of the twentieth century, and had worked with the foremost artists of his time, including Proust, Gide, Picasso and Stravinsky.
This memoir tells the inside account of those achievements and of his glittering social circle. Cocteau writes about his childhood, about his development as an artist, and the peculiarity of the artist’s life, about his dreams, friendships, pain, and laughter. He probes his motivations and explains his philosophies, giving intimate details in soaring prose. And sprinkled throughout are anecdotes about the elite and historic people he associated with.
Beyond illuminating a truly remarkable life, The Difficulty of Being is an inspiring homage to the belief that art matters.