Bolesław Leśmian
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Bolesław Leśmian (born Bolesław Lesman; 22 January 1877The exact date of his birth is disputed: the birth certificate gives 1877, Leśmian himself used 1878, while the date on his tombstone is 1879. – 5 November 1937) was a Polish poet, artist, and member of the Polish Academy of Literature, one of the first poets to introduce
Symbolism Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: *Symbol, any object or sign that represents an idea Arts *Artistic symbol, an element of a literary, visual, or other work of art that represents an idea ** Color symbolism, the use of colors within various c ...
and
Expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...
to Polish verse. Though largely a marginal figure in his lifetime, Leśmian is now considered one of Poland's greatest poets. He is, however, little known outside Poland, mostly on account of his neologism-rich idiosyncratic style, dubbed "almost untranslatable" by
Czesław Miłosz Czesław Miłosz ( , , ; 30 June 1911 – 14 August 2004) was a Polish Americans, Polish-American poet, prose writer, translator, and diplomat. He primarily wrote his poetry in Polish language, Polish. Regarded as one of the great poets of the ...
and "the ultimate and overwhelming proof for the untranslatability of poetry" by noted Polish Shakespearean translator, Stanisław Barańczak.


Life

Bolesław Leśmian was born on 22 January 1877 in
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
,
Congress Poland Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It was established w ...
,
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
, to a Polonized
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
family. He spent his childhood and youth in
Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
, where he graduated from the law faculty of Saint Vladimir University. In 1901 he returned to Warsaw. From there, he visited various European cities, including
Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
and Paris, where he married painter Zofia Chylińska. Heavily influenced by French modernists, Leśmian returned to Warsaw, where he became cofounder of an experimental ''Artistic Theatre''. There he also met one of his closest friends,
Zenon Przesmycki Zenon Przesmycki (pen name ''Miriam''; Radzyń Podlaski, 22 December 1861 – 17 October 1944, Warsaw), was a Polish poet, translator and an art critic of the literary period of Młoda Polska, who studied law in Italy, France and England; in yea ...
, with whom he became involved in the publication of ''Chimera'', an art newspaper. Although he made his debut in 1895 (a series of poems published in '' Wędrowiec'' magazine), his works initially went unnoticed. To sound "more Polish", Leśmian adopted a slightly modified version of his surname which included typically Polish sounds (previously it had been Lesman). According to various conflicting sources, the author of the pen-name which eventually became his official surname was either the known poet and poet's uncle Antoni Lange, or a renowned bon-vivant of Warsaw, Franc Fiszer. The first booklet issued in Warsaw in 1912 (''Sad Rozstajny'') did not bring him much publicity either, and in 1912 Leśmian moved back to France. He returned in 1914. From 1918 until 1934, he worked as a
notary A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is distin ...
of large landed estates in
Hrubieszów Hrubieszów (; ; , or ) is a town in southeastern Poland, with a population of around 18,212 (2016). It is the capital of Hrubieszów County within the Lublin Voivodeship. Throughout history, the town's culture and architecture was strongly shaped ...
and then as a lawyer in
Zamość Zamość (; ; ) is a historical city in southeastern Poland. It is situated in the southern part of Lublin Voivodeship, about from Lublin, from Warsaw. In 2021, the population of Zamość was 62,021. Zamość was founded in 1580 by Jan Zamoyski ...
. At the same time he published the best known of his books: ''Łąka'' (''The Meadow'', 1920) and ''Napój cienisty'' (''Shadowy Drink'', 1936). In 1933, he was accepted as a permanent member of the Polish Academy of Literature. In 1935, he moved back to Warsaw, where he died two years later. He is buried in
Powązki Cemetery Powązki Cemetery (; ), also known as Stare Powązki (), is a historic necropolis located in Wola district, in the western part of Warsaw, Poland. It is the most famous cemetery in the city and one of the oldest, having been established in 179 ...
, in the Alley of the Meritorious, among other notable Polish writers, politicians and military men. Leśmian and Chylińska had two daughters, one of who, Wanda "Dunia" Leśmianówna, would later marry British adventurer and traveller Denis Hills. Actress and singer
Gillian Hills Gillian Hills (born 5 June 1944) is a British actress and singer. She first came to notice as a teenager in the 1960s in the British films ''Beat Girl'' (1960) and ''Blowup'' (1966). She also spent several years living in France, where she emb ...
- famous for her brief appearances in Antonioni's ''
Blowup ''Blowup'' (also styled ''Blow-Up'') is a 1966 Psychological thriller, psychological Mystery film, mystery film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, co-written by Antonioni, Tonino Guerra and Edward Bond and produced by Carlo Ponti. It is Antoni ...
'' and Kubrick's '' A Clockwork Orange'' in two similar scenes - was born of this marriage in 1944. Leśmian was nephew of the famous poet and writer of the Young Poland movement, Antoni Lange, and the cousin of another notable poet of the epoch,
Jan Brzechwa Jan Brzechwa (; 15 August 1898 – 2 July 1966) was a Polish poet, author and lawyer, known mostly for his contribution to children's literature. He was born Jan Wiktor Lesman to a Polish Jew, Polish family of Jewish descent.folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...
and traditions — Leśmian expounds his life philosophy, revolving around his equally deep and personal fascinations with God and death. The protagonists of his works are usually "handicapped humans", struggling between Culture and Nature, unable to accept their in-between existence. For Leśmian, the only ones who can do this - the only ones able to live with both Culture and Nature simultaneously — are poets, the last examples of "the primitive mankind." Relying heavily on "the vertiginous word-formation potential of Polish," Leśmian's style is especially notable for its numerous
neologism In linguistics, a neologism (; also known as a coinage) is any newly formed word, term, or phrase that has achieved popular or institutional recognition and is becoming accepted into mainstream language. Most definitively, a word can be considered ...
s, many of which are still in use in everyday
Polish language Polish (, , or simply , ) is a West Slavic languages, West Slavic language of the Lechitic languages, Lechitic subgroup, within the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family, and is written in the Latin script. It is primarily spo ...
(as opposed to, say,
Cyprian Norwid Cyprian Kamil Norwid (; – 23 May 1883) was a Polish poet, dramatist, painter, sculptor, and philosopher. He is now considered one of the four most important Polish Romanticism, Polish Romantic poets, though scholars still debate whether he is ...
's similar experiments). Referred to as "leśmianisms" by subsequent scholars, these neologisms are usually the product of the versatile "prefix+verb/noun(+suffix)" formula natural to most
Slavic languages The Slavic languages, also known as the Slavonic languages, are Indo-European languages spoken primarily by the Slavs, Slavic peoples and their descendants. They are thought to descend from a proto-language called Proto-Slavic language, Proto- ...
, but peculiar to many other languages, rendering Leśmian's poetry "almost untranslatable" into English. Some of Leśmian's favourite prefixes include those who imply a lack of certain qualities (like ''bez-'' or ''nie-'', loosely, "without," or "non-"), leading certain scholars to dub him "the Dante of non-being." Considered one of the greatest Polish poets in history, Leśmian is certainly one of the most interesting artists of the interwar period, creator of a uniquely stylised Polish folk ballad and profoundly personal — and, nevertheless, popular — metaphysical lyrics. In addition, he is frequently mentioned as the most notable poet of erotic verses in the history of the Polish language.


Bibliography

* ''Sad rozstajny'', (''Bifurcated Orchard'', Warsaw, 1912) * ''Klechdy sezamowe'' (''Sesame Tales'', Warsaw, 1913) * " (''Adventures of Sindbad the Sailor'', Warsaw, 1913) * ''Łąka'' (''Meadow'', Warsaw, 1920) * ''Napój cienisty'', (''Shadowy Drink'', Warsaw, 1936) * ''Dziejba leśna'' (''Forest Happenings'', Warsaw, 1938) * ''Klechdy polskie'' (''Polish Tales'', London 1956) * ''Skrzypek opętany'' (''Possessed Violin Player'', Warsaw, 1985) * ''Pochmiel księżycowy'' (
Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
, ''Lunar the-day-after'', Warsaw, 1987; Polish translation by
Jerzy Ficowski Jerzy Tadeusz Ficowski (; 4 October 1924 in Warsaw – 9 May 2006 in Warsaw) was a Polish poet, writer, ethnographer and translator (from Yiddish, Russian, Romani and Hungarian). Biography and works During the German occupation of Poland in ...
) * ''Zdziczenie obyczajów pośmiertnych'' (''Savagery of Posthumous Habits'', Cracow, 1998) * ''33 of the Most Beautiful Love Poems'' (selected poems: Polish-English edition), New York, 2011; English translation by Marian Polak-Chlabicz) * ''Marvellations: The Best-Loved Poems'' (selected poems: Polish-English edition), New York, 2014; English translation by Marian Polak-Chlabicz) * ''Beyond the Beyond'' (selected poems: Polish-English edition), New York, 2017; English translation by Marian Polak-Chlabicz)


Footnotes


See also

*
Polish literature Polish literature is the literary tradition of Poland. Most Polish literature has been written in the Polish language, though other languages used in Poland over the centuries have also contributed to Polish literary traditions, including Latin, ...
*
List of Poles This is a partial list of notable Polish people, Polish or Polish language, Polish-speaking or -writing people. People of partial Polish heritage have their respective ancestries credited. Physics *Miedziak Antal * Czesław Białobrzesk ...


References

* * * * * *


Further reading

* Mortkowicz-Olczakowa, Hanna (1961). ''Bunt wspomnień.'' Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy. * Alexandra Chciuk-Celt, "Linguistic innovation in Boleslaw Lesmian," translation dissertation with heavily annotated double versions (verse and literal) of 68 poems, City University of New York Graduate Center, 1984.


External links

* * *
translate 4 poems 1



Biography
at Culture.pl
Bolesław Leśmian
at poezja.org
The Greatest Poet You'll Never Read
at Culture.pl {{DEFAULTSORT:Lesmian, Boleslaw 1877 births 1937 deaths 19th-century Polish Jews 20th-century Polish Jews Burials at Powązki Cemetery Polish notaries Writers from Warsaw People from Warsaw Governorate 19th-century Polish poets 20th-century Polish poets Neologists Jewish poets Polish erotica writers Members of the Polish Academy of Literature