Blaise Cendrars
A human dynamo of modernism, he wrote poetry on the move, capturing the jazz-age rush of trains, oceans, and a world reshaped by machines.
1887–1961 (age 74)·Swiss-born novelist and poet·Birthday: September 1·The Lost Generation
Biography
Blaise Cendrars lived his life like one of the transcontinental trains that thunder through his verse. Born Frédéric Sauser in Switzerland, he reinvented himself as a poet of velocity, a one-armed veteran (he lost his right arm in WWI) who typed with furious energy. He wasn't just a writer; he was an event, a friend and catalyst to artists like Chagall and Modigliani, and a pioneer of the modern long poem. His 'Prose of the Transsiberian' is less a book than a happening, a collaboration with Sonia Delaunay designed to unfold into a poster matching the Eiffel Tower's height. Cendrars's work is a sensory barrage of cities, ports, and advertisements, a literary equivalent of cinema's jump cuts. He chased experience from gold prospecting in Brazil to filmmaking in Paris, always writing from the nerve center of the 20th century's chaos and promise.
The Lost Generation
1883–1900
Came of age during World War I. Disillusioned by the carnage, they rejected the certainties of the Victorian era and built modernism from the wreckage — in art, literature, and politics.
Blaise was born in 1887, placing them squarely in The Lost Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Blaise Was Born
The biggest hits of 1887
Blaise's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1887Born
President: Grover Cleveland
1892Started school
President: Benjamin Harrison
1900Became a teenager
Boxer Rebellion in China
President: William McKinley
1903Could drive
Wright brothers achieve first powered flight
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1905Could vote
Einstein publishes the theory of special relativity
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1908Turned 21
Ford Model T goes into production
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1917Turned 30
Russian Revolution overthrows the tsar; US enters WWI
President: Woodrow Wilson
1927Turned 40
Lindbergh flies solo across the Atlantic; The Jazz Singer premieres
President: Calvin Coolidge"My Blue Heaven" — Gene Austin
1937Turned 50
Hindenburg disaster; Golden Gate Bridge opens
Gas: $0.20/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"A-Tisket, A-Tasket" — Ella FitzgeraldBest Picture: The Life of Emile Zola
1947Turned 60
India gains independence; the Dead Sea Scrolls found
Gas: $0.23/galHome: $6,600Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Near You" — Francis CraigBest Picture: Gentleman's Agreement
1957Turned 70
Sputnik launches the Space Age
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $10,550Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"All Shook Up" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: The Bridge on the River Kwai
1961Died at 74
Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,500Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Tossin' and Turnin'" — Bobby LewisBest Picture: West Side Story
Key Achievements
- Published 'La Prose du Transsibérien et de la Petite Jehanne de France' (1913), a landmark modernist poem illustrated by Sonia Delaunay.
- Wrote 'L'Or', a bestselling novel about the California Gold Rush that was adapted into several films.
- His experimental, cinematic writing style influenced a generation of poets and writers on both sides of the Atlantic.
- Served as a foreign legionnaire in World War I, losing his right arm, an experience that deeply marked his later work.
Did You Know?
He chose his pen name, Blaise Cendrars, suggesting 'braise' (embers) and 'cendres' (ashes).
He worked as a film journalist and even assisted Abel Gance on the epic silent film 'J'accuse!'.
During WWII, he was a correspondent alongside British troops.
His son, Rémy, became a well-known radio presenter in Switzerland.
“The whole world is moving, and I am at the center of its movement.”
