Author. He is remembered as a French author, specializing in poetry, novels, and stage plays, mainly in the early 20th century. After studying piano at the Paris Conservatory, he inherited a fortune after his father's death, which afforded the opportunity for his work to be self-published. Described as an eccentric avant-garde author, he wrote and published some of his most important work between 1900 and 1914. He was a world traveler. Sources document his early mental problems, and he died in a hotel room penniless of a barbiturate overdose in 1933, aged 56. His most recognized works are "Impressions of Africa", a 1910 novel, which was later adapted into a play, and the 1914 novel, "Locus Solus." In 1932, he updated a "New Impression of Africa" to a much longer poem with illustrations. Posthumously in 1935, his "Among the Blacks" was published. Many of his pieces have been translated to English. He became a champion by the Surrealists. He has several biographies written about his short life including Mark Ford's 2000 "Raymond Roussel and the Republic of Dreams." Besides being an author, he was a chess enthusiast, known to abuse drugs, and had a scandalous nontraditional love life. He was buried in his family's plot.
Author. He is remembered as a French author, specializing in poetry, novels, and stage plays, mainly in the early 20th century. After studying piano at the Paris Conservatory, he inherited a fortune after his father's death, which afforded the opportunity for his work to be self-published. Described as an eccentric avant-garde author, he wrote and published some of his most important work between 1900 and 1914. He was a world traveler. Sources document his early mental problems, and he died in a hotel room penniless of a barbiturate overdose in 1933, aged 56. His most recognized works are "Impressions of Africa", a 1910 novel, which was later adapted into a play, and the 1914 novel, "Locus Solus." In 1932, he updated a "New Impression of Africa" to a much longer poem with illustrations. Posthumously in 1935, his "Among the Blacks" was published. Many of his pieces have been translated to English. He became a champion by the Surrealists. He has several biographies written about his short life including Mark Ford's 2000 "Raymond Roussel and the Republic of Dreams." Besides being an author, he was a chess enthusiast, known to abuse drugs, and had a scandalous nontraditional love life. He was buried in his family's plot.
Bio by: Linda Davis
Gravesite Details
Buried in his family's plot.
Family Members
Parents
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