Rythmes Pittoresques (Exeter Textes Littéraires)

The poems in Rythmes pittoresques, first published in 1890, present not only a poet searching for a voice, but also a female poet searching for a voice while breaking down rules of both versification and gender-determined source of expression. They went straight to the heart of the male-dominated poetry of the time and effectively threatened its existence. Of the group of poets who were the first to write free-verse poetry in French – Marie Krysinska, Arthur Rimbaud, Jules Laforgue, Gustave Kahn – only Marie Krysinska (1857-1908) has not received critical recognition. Although it was quickly dismissed by critics simply because it was written by a female poet, Krysinska’s poetry gives insight into the creation of a new form of feminine expression as well as the persecution of the female artist viewed by her largely male peers, readership and competitors.