Maria Anastasia Krysińska (

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

, 22 January 1857 -

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, 15 September 1908) was a Polish-French symbolist poet, novelist, and musician.

Biography

Born to a lawyer, Ksawery Jan Teodor Krysiński and his wife Amelia Maria Wołowska, Marie Krysinska left her native Warsaw when she was sixteen to study at the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

, however she abandoned her studies shortly after her arrival in Paris to pursue a more bohemian lifestyle. She became a pianist at the cabaret Le Chat Noir, where she would also recite some of her poetry. During her time in Paris, Krysinska became an active member of a variety of creative and literary circles of the time, including the "Hirsutes," "Jemenfoutistes," "Zutistes" and "les Hydropathes" of which she was the only female member. Starting in 1882 she began to publish some of her original work in ''La revue du chat noir'' and ''La revue indépendente.'' In 1890 she published her first collection of poetry, ''Rythmes pittoresques,'' followed by a collection of prose pieces, ''L'Amour chemine'' in 1892. Two years later she published her second collection of poetry, ''Joies errantes.'' She continued to publish even more novels, poems, and articles throughout her life. She was married to the painter Georges Bellenger (1847-1915), who was well known for his lithographs.

Free Verse/Vers Libre

Although conventionally the innovation of free verse poetry is attributed to other 19th century french poets such as Gustave Kahn and

Jules Laforgue Jules Laforgue (; 16 August 1860 – 20 August 1887) was a Franco-Uruguayan poet, often referred to as a Symbolist poet. Critics and commentators have also pointed to Impressionism as a direct influence and his poetry has been called "part-symbo ...

, Marie Krysinska actually published free verse poetry in 1882, five years before other volumes featuring free verse poetry would appear in 1887 giving her a more authentic claim to the title 'innovator of free verse'.Hélène Millot ''Marie Krysinska'' : Femmes poètes du xixe siècle Une anthologie, PUL, 1998 ; p. 153/154 Regardless, it is important to note both Krysinska's role in the innovation of free verse poetry, and her erasure from its history.

Works

*''Rythmes pittoresques : mirages, symboles, femmes, contes, résurrections'', Lemerre, 1890. Réédition : édition critique établie par Seth Whidden, Exeter, University of Exeter press, 2003 Texte en ligne
/small> *''L'Amour chemine'', Lemerre, 1892 * ''Joies errantes : nouveaux rythmes pittoresques'', Lemerre, 1894 Texte en ligne
/small> * ''Intermèdes, nouveaux rythmes pittoresques : pentéliques, guitares lointaines, chansons et légendes'', Messein, 1903 Texte en ligne
/small> * ''La Force du désir'', roman, Mercure de France, 1905 Texte en ligne
/small> *''Œuvres complètes'', dir. Florence Goulesque et Seth Whidden (Honoré Champion, 2022-2026) **Section I. POÉSIE. Vol. I: ''Rythmes pittoresques''. Édition par Seth Whidden. ''Joies errantes''. Édition par Yann Frémy (†). ISBN 9782745356895.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Krysinska, Marie 1857 births 1908 deaths 19th-century Polish poets 20th-century Polish poets Polish women poets Polish writers in French Emigrants from Congress Poland to France