Prévert, Jacques (zhäk prāvĕr`), 1900–1977, French poet. One of the most popular of 20th-century French writers, Prévert produced poetry ranging from the humorous to the satiric to the melancholy. Many of his poems and songs were sung in nightclubs before being collected and published. His volumes of poetry include Paroles (1946), Spectacle (1951), and, in English translation, Selections from Paroles (1958) and To Paint the Portrait of a Bird (tr. by Lawrence Ferlinghetti, 1970). Prévert wrote many important screenplays, including those for Marcel Carné's Le Jour se lève (1939) and Les Enfants du paradis (1945).

Prévert, Jacques (-Henri-Marie)

(born Feb. 4, 1900, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France—died April 11, 1977, Omonville-la-Petite) French poet and screenwriter. A shop worker, he began writing after his military service. Influenced by the Symbolist movement, he renewed the ancient tradition of oral poetry, creating “song poems” about Paris street life, collected in the anthology Words (1945). Many were put to music and became extremely popular. His excellent screenplays for Marcel Carné include The Children of Paradise (1945), Spectacle (1951), and Things and Other Things (1972). He also worked for French television and on animated films for children.