Guillaume Apollinaire

A poet and critic who chronicled and consorted with the most adventurous artists of his time, Guillaume Apollinaire was himself not entirely of that tumultuous age: his own writings told of things ancient, enduring, and eternal. His enthusiasm for the work of his contemporaries has about it a bemused quality, even though it strongly influenced the aesthetics of the early twentieth century. His visionary poetry attracted the interest of prominent musicians ranging from Poulenc to Shostakovich. His premature death came shortly after service in the trenches during WWI. The son ...