Editing Paul Claudel (section)

==Early life==
He was born in [[Villeneuve-sur-Fère]] ([[Aisne]]), into a family of farmers and government officials.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Paul Claudel, Encyclopedia.com|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/french-literature-biographies/paul-claudel|website=www.encyclopedia.com|access-date=2020-05-10}}</ref> His father, Louis-Prosper, dealt in mortgages and bank transactions. His mother, the former Louise Cerveaux, came from a Champagne family of Catholic farmers and priests. Having spent his first years in [[Champagne (province)|Champagne]], he studied at the ''[[lycée]]'' of [[Bar-le-Duc]] and at the [[Lycée Louis-le-Grand]] in 1881, when his parents moved to Paris.
[[File:Augustins - Paul Claudel à seize ans - Camille Claudel RA 941.jpg|thumb|left|140px|''Paul Claudel, age sixteen'', by his sister, [[Camille Claudel]], modeled in 1884 and cast in 1893]]
An unbeliever in his teenage years, Claudel experienced a conversion at age 18 on Christmas Day 1886 while listening to a choir sing [[Vespers]] in the cathedral of [[Notre-Dame de Paris]]: "In an instant, my heart was touched, and I believed." He remained an active Catholic for the rest of his life. In addition, he discovered [[Arthur Rimbaud]]'s book of poetry ''Illuminations''. He worked towards "the revelation through poetry, both lyrical and dramatic, of the grand design of creation".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Paul Claudel, French author|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Paul-Claudel|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|access-date=2020-05-10}}</ref>

Claudel studied at the [[Sciences Po|Paris Institute of Political Studies]].