Léon Dierx

Biography

Born on 13 March 1838 in Saint-Denis, Réunion, Léon Dierx is one of the most personal voices of the Parnassian movement. Raised in Réunion before moving to Paris as a teenager, he became friends with Leconte de Lisle, his fellow Réunionese and mentor, and moved in literary circles where he rubbed shoulders with Verlaine, Mallarmé and Gautier. He published “Poèmes et Poésies” in 1864, “Lèvres closes” (Closed Lips) in 1867, then “Les Paroles du vaincu” (Words of the Vanquished, 1871) and “Amants” (Lovers, 1879), collections marked by deep melancholy, a sense of inner exile and evocations of his native island.

Less prolific than his Parnassian contemporaries, his work is nonetheless admired for its rigour and restrained emotion. In 1898, on the death of Stéphane Mallarmé, French poets elected him “Prince of Poets”, a title that confirmed his standing in the literary world of his time. He held it until his death in Paris on 11 June 1912. Today streets and cultural venues in Réunion bear his name, and his work forms a quiet bridge between the island and the French Parnassian movement.

Contribution

A figure of the Parnassian movement; author of “Lèvres closes” (1867) and “Les Paroles du vaincu” (1871); elected Prince of Poets in 1898 on Mallarmé's death.

Legacy

One of the Réunionese poets best represented in French literary history; his title of Prince of Poets makes him a quiet ambassador of the island in the letters of mainland France.