Introduction

Francis Poulenc's writings and interviews give little idea of his political opinions. In a musical and artistic world in which Poulenc could count on a good deal of sympathy and very little open hostility, the media naturally encouraged him to write. Pierre Meylan told no more than the truth when he wrote in 1961 that 'Poulenc knows ancient and modern poets better than any contemporary composer'. Under the Occupation, Poulenc published one article in Comoedia, the main periodical of cultural collaboration, two in La Nouvelle Revue Francaise, run by the collaborator Drieu La Rochelle, and one in newspaper L'Information Musicale. From 1917, the composer belonged to the Nouveaux Jeunes, a group of artists that formed around Erik Satie and from which Les Six emerged in January 1920. The year 1922 was, with Mavra, a turning point in Poulenc's early career. Poulenc's style does not belong on highest literary level, but it is characterised, moulded by the sound of his voice.