In 1945, after several years in the French Resistance, Gabriel Pomerand (1925-1972) returned to Paris where, together with Romanian refugee Isidore Isou, he launched the Lettrist movement, catalyzing a loose collective of avant-garde writers, visual artists, filmmakers, and cabaret performers in in postwar Left Bank Paris. The Lettrists espoused a philosophy of constant creative renewal in which, among other things, letterforms were to be the basis, the underlying principle, of future artwork. Along with their followers, Pomerand and Isou instigated dozens of performances, exhibits, and publications in a decade-long burst of energy. As the mouthpiece of the movement in its first years, Pomerand organized scandalous public lectures, gave reputedly remarkable performances of sound poetry, painted oils, and made an award-winning short movie. His prolific output over the years included innovative artists books and novels, as well as screenplays, cultural criticism, and book reviews.