Larbaud, Valéry (1881–1957)

French writer. His Poésies de A O Barnabooth 1908, poems written in free verse, show the influence of Walt Whitman. Some years later he published the prose work A O Barnabooth, ses oeuvres complètes 1913. He also wrote a short novel, Fermina Márquez 1911, several volumes of short stories, and a collection of critical essays, Ce vice impuni, la lecture 1925.

Larbaud was born at Vichy. His wealth enabled him to travel widely. He translated Coleridge, Samuel Butler, and James Joyce from English, and Ramon Gomez de la Serna from Spanish. His Journal Inedit appeared 1954–55 and his Journal 1912–1935 1955.