Gilbert Lely

Gilbert Lely (19 March 1904 - 4 June 1985) was a French poet.

Writing
In the 1930s he was part of the surrealist movement and was admired by André Suarès, André Breton and Yves Bonnefoy.

His first book Les Métamorphoses (1930) was a translation of poems. After that he wrote Arden (1933) and La Sylphide ou l’Étoile Carnivore (1938).

His main work was Ma Civilisation (1942), illustrated by Lucien Coutaud, which was followed by La Folie Tristan in 1954.

In the biography Vie du Marquis de Sade (1952-1957), he described de Sade historicly and his political evolution without reducing him to clichés. The book was only possible because Xavier Henri Marie de Sade opened the family archive for the first time in four generations. Lély took over the task of publishing Sade's works from Maurice Heine. The complete edition (1962–64) also includes previously unpublished correspondence.

Lély wrote about the history of medicine in the journal Hippocrates. His late work consists of L'Épouse Infidèle (1966) and the dramatic poem Solomonie la Possédée (1979).

Personal life
Lély was born on 19 March 1904 in Neuilly-sur-Seine and died on 4 June 1985 in Paris.

During World War II, he was friends with René Char.