author
Tristan Corbière
1845–1875
Best known for a single book that was barely noticed in his lifetime, this Breton poet wrote with sharp irony, sea-salt detail, and a voice unlike anyone around him. His work later caught the attention of Paul Verlaine, who helped bring it to a wider audience.
1 Audiobook
Les amours jaunes
by Tristan Corbière
About the author
Born Édouard-Joachim Corbière in Brittany on July 18, 1845, he spent much of his short life around Morlaix and the Breton coast. Chronic illness shaped his life from an early age, and the sea, local speech, and rough coastal life all left strong marks on his poetry.
Writing under the name Tristan Corbière, he published one main collection, Les Amours jaunes, in 1873. Its mix of irony, slang, shifting rhythms, and unsentimental images of love and seafaring life made it unusual for its time.
Corbière died in Morlaix on March 1, 1875, at just twenty-nine. He was little known when he died, but his reputation grew after Paul Verlaine included him among the "poètes maudits," and he is now remembered as one of the most original French poets of the nineteenth century.