Albert Samain

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Albert Samain

Albert Victor Samain (born April 3, 1858 in Lille , † August 18, 1900 in Magny-les-Hameaux ) was a French poet and representative of symbolism .

Life

Albert Samain, portrait by Félix Vallotton (1896)

After attending high school, Samain worked in a bank in his hometown. Around 1884 he came to Paris, where he found a job in the prefecture of the Seine department , which he held until shortly before his death.

In 1890 he was one of the founders of the literary magazine Mercure de France , where his first poems were published. In 1893 his first volume of poetry, Au Jardin de l'Infante , was published in a small edition , which was acclaimed by literary critics. An expanded edition of the work was published in 1897 under the title L'Urne penchée . After his second volume of poetry, Aux flancs du vase , was published in 1898 , Samain withdrew to the country because of his poor health, where he died in 1900.

Samain's third volume of poetry, Le Chariot d'or , was published posthumously in 1901. It also contained the lyric drama Polyphème . This was premiered in 1904 at the Théâtre de l'Œuvre and later formed the template for Jean Cras ' opera of the same name, which premiered in 1922 at the Opéra-Comique . Klaus Miehling later used the text for his Pastorale tragique Polyphème (op. 81, 2000).

Web links

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