Italian-born, French-language poet, author, and Playwright associated with the surrealist movement. His best-known works include Calligrammes (poems), Les Mamelles de Tiresias (play), and Les Epingles (stories).
He was born Wilhelm Albert Wlodzimierz Apolinary Kostrowicki. During his teenage years, he moved to France and changed his name.
He invented the term surrealism, and his 1917 play The Breasts of Tiresias was one of the first works in this genre.
He was the son of a Polish noblewoman; the identity of his father remains a mystery.
He was an artistic model and friend of the renowned Painter Pablo Picasso.
