author
Tristan Corbière
1845–1875
A sharp, unconventional French poet from Brittany, he wrote with wit, irony, and a salty feel for seafaring life. Though little recognized during his short lifetime, he later became known as one of the "cursed poets" admired for pushing poetry in new directions.
1 Audiobook
Les amours jaunes
by Tristan Corbière
About the author
Born Édouard-Joachim Corbière in Brittany on July 18, 1845, he spent most of his life around Morlaix and took the name Tristan Corbière as his pen name. His coastal upbringing and his long struggles with poor health shaped both his life and his writing, giving his work a restless, deeply personal edge.
Corbière is best known for a single collection, Les Amours jaunes, published in 1873. His poems stood out for their irony, slangy energy, rough music, and vivid sense of the sea, making him feel very different from many of his contemporaries.
He died in Morlaix on March 1, 1875, at only twenty-nine. Recognition came mostly after his death, especially when Paul Verlaine later helped bring attention to his work, and Corbière is now remembered as a distinctive voice in nineteenth-century French poetry.