Francis Ponge was born in 1899 in Montpellier, France. He started writing at a relatively young age, gaining notice even in the early 1920s. Like many French writers of his time, he was also politically associated, joining the ranks of the Socialist Party in 1919. As a writer, he joined the Surrealist movement for a short time during the 1930s; this also had political ramifications, influencing him to join the Communist Party. However, his most notable works were to come later in his life.