Born Édouard-Joachim Corbière on the north coast of Brittany the son of a marine officer and novelist (Édouard Corbière, 1793-1875), Tristan’s reputation as poet rests on a single, poorly received collection published at the author’s (and his father”s) expense in 1873:
Les Amours jaunes(existing translation;
These Jaundiced Loves). It was Paul Verlaine’s notorious essay in
Les Poètes maudits(not yet translated; Cursed Poets) that brought Tristan Corbière the posthumous attention that he deserved a decade later, but it was also Verlaine’s view of him that dominated his reception for more than a century. His short, sickly life in deepest, seafaring Brittany has acquired the status of myth: his social marginality, the remoteness of Morlaix and Roscoff, his physical illness,…
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Citation: Williams, Heather. "Tristan Corbière". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 27 December 2017 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=13953, accessed 12 October 2024.]