Editing Paul Éluard (section)

===Early life===
Éluard was born on 14 December 1895 in [[Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis]], the son of Eugène Clément Grindel and wife Jeanne-Marie née Cousin. His father was an accountant when Paul was born but soon opened a real-estate agency. His mother was a seamstress. Around 1908, the family moved to Paris, rue Louis Blanc. Éluard attended the local school in [[Aulnay-sous-Bois]], before obtaining a scholarship to attend the École Supérieure de Colbert. At the age of 16, he contracted [[tuberculosis]], interrupted his studies, and remained hospitalized until April 1914 in the Clavadel [[sanatorium]] near [[Davos]].

There he met a young Russian girl of his age, [[Gala Dalí|Helena Diakonova]], whom he nicknamed [[Gala Dalí|Gala]]. He confided to her his dream of becoming a poet, of his admiration for "poets dead of hunger, sizzling dreams" and of his parents' disapproval. She wrote to him that "you will become a great poet". They became inseparable. She believed in him and gave him confidence and encouragement and provided him with the sense of security he needed to write. She listened and was involved in the creation of his verses. She became his [[muse]] and the critic, always honest, and told him which images she preferred, which verses she disliked. He was then particularly inspired by [[Walt Whitman]].{{Citation needed|date=July 2011}} In Clavadel, Éluard also met the Brazilian youngster [[Manuel Bandeira]], who would become one of the foremost poets of the Portuguese language. They became friends during their hospitalization in the sanatorium, and kept in touch by mail after returning to their respective countries.<ref>Bandeira, M. Itinerário de Pasárgada. 3rd edition. Rio de Janeiro, Nova Fronteira, 1984.</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Manuel Bandeira. Etude, choix de textes et bibliographie. Dessins, portraits, fac-similés.|last=Simon|first=Michel|publisher=Seghers|year=1965|location=Paris|pages=6}}</ref>