The Difficulty of Being

By the time he published The Difficulty of Being in 1947, Cocteau had produced some of the most respected films and literature of the twentieth century and worked with the foremost artists of his time. This memoir, written during a period of illness, tells the inside account of those achievements and of his glittering social circle, which included Proust, Gide, Picassso and Stravinsky. Cocteau writes about his childhood, about his development as an artist, and the peculiarity of the artistandrs"s life, about his dreams, friendships, pain, and laughter. He probes his motivations and explains his philosophies, giving intimate details in soaring prose. Beyond telling of a truly remarkable life, The Difficulty of Being inspires.

JEAN COCTEAU (1889–1963) was a novelist, poet, filmmaker, artist and playwright. Born in a village just outside of Paris, he left home at fifteen and published his first volume of poetry, Aladdin’s Lamp, at nineteen. He circulated in the highest ranks of bohemian Paris, and counted Picasso and Proust among his close friends. His most famous works include the novel Les Enfants terribles and the films Beauty and the Beast and Orpheus. He was openly gay and at one time an opium addict. He died of a heart attack after being informed of the death of his friend, the singer Edith Piaf.

GEOFFREY O'BRIEN is the Editor-in-Chief of the Library of America. His essays and criticism have been collected in Stolen Glimpses, Captive Shadows: Writing on Film, 2002-2012 and other volumes.