Bolesław Leśmian
| Bolesław Leśmian | |
|---|---|
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| Born | Bolesław Lesman January 22, 1877 Warsaw, Congress Poland |
| Died | November 5, 1937 (aged 60) Warsaw, Poland |
| Resting place | Powązki Cemetery |
| Occupation | Poet |
| Language | Polish |
| Nationality | Polish |
| Ethnicity | Jewish |
Bolesław Leśmian (born Bolesław Lesman; January 22, 1877 – November 5, 1937) was a Polish poet, artist and member of the Polish Academy of Literature. He was one of the most influential poets of the early 20th century in Poland. He was also a cousin of another notable poet of the epoch, Jan Brzechwa, and nephew of the famous poet and writer of Young Poland, Antoni Lange.
Bolesław Leśmian was born January 22, 1877 in Warsaw, Congress Poland, Russian Empire to a family of Polonized Jewish intelligentsia. He spent his childhood and youth in Kiev, where he graduated from the law faculty of Saint Vladimir University. In 1901, he returned to Warsaw. From there, he set off on a journey to various European cities, including Munich and Paris, where he married a painter, Zofia Chylińska. Heavily influenced by French modernists, Leśmian returned to Warsaw, where he became one of the founders of an experimental Artistic Theatre. There he also met one of his closest friends, Zenon Przesmycki, 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.
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