Derennes was born in Charente, the son of Gustave, a professor of history, and Marthe Cassan, the daughter of a baker.
There he met the poet Émile Despax from Dax, and Marcel Gounouilhou, future director of the daily La Petite Gironde with whom he would collaborate.
[1] He attended classes at the Sorbonne, obtained a bachelor's degree in letters in 1903, and frequented literary salons such as that of Anna de Noailles and the poetry evenings of the magazine La Plume at the Caveau du Soleil d'Or.
From 1905, he was part of the group of writers, including Rosny jeune, Paul Margueritte, and Maxime Leroy, which, at the beginning of the 20th century, made Hossegor known and where he stayed regularly until the early 1920s.
Le Bestiaire sentimental, which was a favourite with the public, comprises three volumes: Vie de Grillon, La Chauve-Souris and Émile et les autres.