Maurice Rollinat (December 29, 1846 in Châteauroux,

Indre Indre (; oc, Endre) is a landlocked department in central France named after the river Indre. The inhabitants of the department are known as the ''Indriens'' (masculine; ) and ''Indriennes'' (feminine; ). Indre is part of the current administ ...

– October 26, 1903 in Ivry-sur-Seine) was a French poet and musician.

Early works

His father represented

in the National Assembly of 1848, and was a friend of George Sand, whose influence is very marked in young Rollinat's first volume, ''Dans les brandes'' (1877), and to whom it was dedicated.

Brief fame

After its publication, he abandoned realism and worked in a very different manner. He joined a literary circle that called themselves '' Les Hydropathes'', founded by

Émile Goudeau Émile Goudeau (29 August 1849 – 18 September 1906) was a French journalist, novelist and poet. He was the founder of the Hydropathes literary club. Life He was born in Périgueux, Dordogne, the son of Germain Goudeau, an architect, and c ...

, an anti-clerical group with ties to the decadent literary movement. Under their influence wrote the poems that made his reputation. In ''Les Névroses'', with the sub-title ''Les Âmes, Les Luxures, Les Refuges, Les Spectres, Les Ténèbres'', he showed himself as a disciple of

Charles Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poetry, French poet who also produced notable work as an essayist and art critic. His poems exhibit mastery in the handling of rhyme and rhythm, contain an exoticis ...

. He constantly returns in these poems to the physical horrors of death, and is obsessed by unpleasant images. Less outre in sentiment are ''L'Abîme'' (1886), ''La Nature'', and a book of children's verse, ''Le Livre de la Nature'' (1893). He was musician as well as poet, and set many of his songs to music. Several evenings a week, Rollinat would appear at the cabaret Le Chat Noir, and there he would perform his poems with piano accompaniment. His gaunt and pale appearance made his portrait a favourite subject for a number of painters, and the startling subjects of his verses brought him short lived fame; at the height of his popularity he drew a number of celebrities to the cabaret to see him perform; among them were Leconte de Lisle and

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

. Rollinat's friend Jules Barbey d'Aurevilly wrote that "Rollinat might be Baudelaire's superior in the sincerity and depth of his diabolism". Rollinat married the actress Cécile Pouettre. He lost his reason in consequence of his wife's death from rabies; after several

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

attempts, he died in an insane asylum at Ivry-sur-Seine. He is buried in the Saint-Denis cemetery in Châteauroux. On Rollinat's death,

Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor, generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a uniqu ...

offered the Fresselines commune a bas-relief entitled "Poet and the Muse". This sculpture is on display on the wall of the village church at Crozant.

Publications

* 1877 : ''Dans les brandes'' * 1883 : ''Les Névroses'' * 1886 : ''L'Abîme'' * 1887 : ''Dix mélodies nouvelles'' * 1892 : ''La Nature'' * 1893 : ''Le Livre de la nature'' (anthology) * 1896 : ''Les Apparitions'' * 1898 : ''Ce que dit la Vie et ce que dit la Mort'' * 1899 : ''Paysages et paysans'' * 1903 : ''En errant, proses d'un solitaire''

Posthumes

* 1904 : ''Ruminations : proses d'un solitaire'' * 1911 : ''Les Bêtes''

Contemporary editions

* Œuvres (éditées par R. Miannay - 1977) - Lettres Modernes Minard : **I. Dans les brandes (1877) ** II. Les Névrôses (1883)

References

* * Régis Miannay, ''Maurice Rollinat, poète et musicien du fantastique'', Badel, 1981. * Hugues Lapaire, ''Rollinat, poète et musicien'', Mellotté, 1932. * Claire Le Guillou, ''Rollinat : ses amitiés artistiques'', Joca seria, 2004. * Association des amis de M. Rollinat, ''Actes du colloque 1996'' (The hundredth anniversary of the poet's birth), 2005.

External links

Biography and several poems

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rollinat, Maurice 1846 births 1903 deaths People from Châteauroux French poets Deaths in mental institutions French male poets 19th-century poets 19th-century French male writers