Raymond Queneau (1903-76) was born at Le Havre in 1903, where he was educated before studying at the Sorbonne in Paris. Between 1924 and 1929 Queneau was active in the surrealist movement and composed its manifesto, Permettez! . Queneau collaborated with a number of Nouvelle Vague film directors, most successfully with Louis Malle’s 1960 adaptation of his novel Zazie dans le metro . Also, Juliette Greco made popular his song Si tu t'imagines. In 1951, Queneau was elected to the Goncourt Academy. He died on October 26, 1976.