Bolesław Leśmian

Born in Warsaw in 1877, Bolesław Leśmian spent much of his childhood and youth in Kiev, where he later studied law. He also spent periods in France, and in his working life he held a number of public posts in smaller Polish towns before becoming a member of the Polish Academy of Literature in 1933.

He is widely remembered as one of the first poets to bring Symbolism and Expressionism into Polish verse in a deeply original way. Critics also note his fascination with folklore, fantasy, and the grotesque, along with his gift for creating unusual, vivid neologisms that became so distinctive they earned their own nickname: "Leśmianisms."

Among his best-known books are Sad rozstajny (1912), Łąka (1920), and Napój cienisty (1936). Although he published relatively little and was not fully appreciated during his lifetime, his reputation grew strongly after his death in Warsaw in 1937, and he is now regarded as one of the most original voices in modern Polish literature.