Rythmes pittoresques

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 sources of expression.

They went straight to the heart of the male-dominated poetry of the time and effectively threatened its existence.

Of the poets considered to be the first to write free-verse poetry in French - Marie Krysinska, Arthur Rimbaud, Jules Laforgue, Gustave Kahn - all have received critical recognition for their work.

All, that is, except Marie Krysinska (1857-1908). Although it was quickly dismissed by critics simply because it was written by a female poet, Krysinska's poetry presents 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.

This volume includes a preface notes presenting the poems' prior publications in literary reviews a biographical chronology of Krysinska's life a complete primary and secondary biography reviews of the collection, documenting the poems' reception at the time of their publication.