Genet, Jean

French dramatist, novelist, and poet. His turbulent life and early years spent in prison are reflected in his drama, characterized by ritual, role-play, and illusion, in which his characters come to act out their bizarre and violent fantasies. His plays include Les Bonnes/The Maids (1947), Le Balcon/The Balcony (1957), and two plays dealing with the Algerian situation: Les Nègres/The Blacks (1959) and Les Paravents/The Screens (1961). His novels include Notre Dame des fleurs/Our Lady of the Flowers (1944) and Miracle de la rose/Miracle of the Rose (1946), which depict a world of criminality and homosexual eroticism.

Influences
Genet's work has affinities with the theories of Antonin Artaud, with the Theatre of the Absurd (see Absurd, Theatre of), and with the existentialism of the French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, although he adapts these elements to his own unique purpose and style.