An Irishman's Diary on Claude Pélieu, a French member of the Beat Generation.

Claude Pélieu (1934-2002) was one of the only French members of the Beat Generation. He moved to America at age 29 and was later associated with some of the founding members of the movement, such as William Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg. I have just written an Irishman's Diary in the Irish Times newspaper about Pélieu and his life and times. Read it here.

Experimental poet, author, translator and collage artist, Pélieu packed a lot into his life. Pélieu came to Ireland in Autumn 1962 with his friend, Michel Doss. The trip was a complete disaster from start to finish. They arrived in Dublin from Fishguard on September 9th and traveled on to Sligo, Donegal, and Galway before returning to France.

Photograph of part of the exhibition in Boole Library, University College Cork (UCC).

Galway was boring and poverty-stricken, according to the Frenchman, while Donegal (Bloody Foreland to be specific) was "sublime". Dublin was a disappointment to him; he saw nothing but drunks and priests in the capital. Ireland's weather did not help the situation; Pélieu complained about the incessant wind and rain in letters home to his then wife, Lula Nash.

Pélieu and his friend ran out of money and had to turn to the French Consul in Galway and the French Ambassador in Dublin for help. They made it home to Paris OK, but the French Embassy sent Pélieu a letter requesting to be reimbursed. I wonder if he managed to pay them back!

I first came across Claude Pélieu at an exhibition in the Boole Library in University College Cork (UCC), Ireland. The exhibition was entitled, 'Claude Pélieu, On All Frequencies', and was curated by James Horton. It ran from 2 July - 30 September 2018.