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He once compiled an encyclopedia on work tools-perhaps the thickest and most comprehensive in the French language-in his own words. The project was inspired by his grandfather, who ran a copper basin factory, and the royalty fees from the book kept him going for the next five years.

At other times, he wrote guides for tourists and small books for artists.

He also hosted a radio program on poetry for 30 years. The daily show was so popular that at its peak, it had about 1 million listeners, according to the French media. "I started the show to bring the power of voice back to French poetry," he says. Chinese poets have also appeared on his show.

Velter believes poetry is like music and the charm of poems is in reciting them aloud. "I blend my life with poetry. Just keep its pace as cheerful as with dancing," he says, clicking his fingers to jazz playing in the background during the interview with China Daily at Peking University in Beijing. He also has a jazz band in Paris.

Velter left the radio show in 2008 because he thought its success would stifle his creativity. "I'm in a constant state of movement. Even if I'm staying somewhere writing, I need to get up very 30 minutes."

Born in northern France, Velter first published his poems in 1964. He traveled widely, including in China, and met painter Zao Wou-ki (Zhao Wuji) in the '70s, and American poet Allen Ginsberg in the '60s.

Chen Shucai, a veteran translator and researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a government think tank, describes Velter's poems as lyrical and emotionally strong. "He has a keen fondness toward oriental spirituality, making his poems dialectic and full of wisdom," Chen, himself a poet, says.