THE ENIGMA OF RAYMOND ROUSSEL
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Roussel was born in Paris to a wealthy family. He was admitted to the Paris Conservatoire for piano at age 15 in 1893. A year later, he inherited a substantial fortune when his father passed away. Roussel began to write poetry to accompany his musical compositions; at 17 he wrote his first poem titled Mon Âme. After that moment, he discovered his love for words and dedicated his life to writing, supporting himself with his personal fortune.
Roussel writes like no other, unlike anyone ever has or ever will. He observed the world uniquely, the enigma of Raymond Roussel lasts well over 100 years since his first works were published. Even his death in a hotel room in Palermo is a mystery —it is unknown whether he committed suicide or had an accidental drug overdose. He is a figure that refuses to be forgotten over time, his influence is far reaching and profound on the greatest artists and creators of our time.
Throughout his lifetime he sought fame and success, and truly believed the public would love his works. However when his first work was met with criticism, he suffered a psychotic breakdown. Popular success eluded him, yet his strong belief in his talents and his enormous personal wealth allowed him to continue producing his unique works.
“The greatest mesmerist of modern times”
— André Breton
THE IDEA GENERATOR
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Roussel was out of this world, not from the future nor another time, but another place.
As such, his writing is unlike anything else. He completely rejected the conventional format and style of the status quo: traditional plot development, character descriptions, word order and even coherency. His works leave the reader with the sensation that he has just landed on an alien planet, and must now attempt to navigate this new world.
Roussel did not publish many works, as he dedicated a great amount of time to each piece. He created 9 major works in his lifetime, the most notable being Impressions d’Afrique (Impressions of Africa) 1910 and Locus Solus, 1914.