Apollinaire is one of the most important poets of the early 20th century. He defended Cubism and helped start Surrealism. He invented the words "Cubism"[1] in 1911, "Orphism" in 1912, and "Surrealism" in 1917.[2] Apollinaire wrote many early Surrealist works. One of these was the play The Breasts of Tiresias (1917). This play became the basis for Francis Poulenc's 1947 operaLes mamelles de Tirésias.
When Guillaume was young, he was influenced by Symbolistpoetry. During his life, he was admired by the young poets who helped influence Surrealism. He was very original, and his work was not based on any theory.
Apollinaire was also a journalist and art critic for Le Matin, L'Intransigeant, L'Esprit nouveau, Mercure de France, and Paris Journal. In 1912, Apollinaire cofounded Les Soirées de Paris, an artistic and literary magazine.
Alcools: Poems, trans. Donald Revell (Wesleyan University Press, 1995)
The Self-Dismembered Man: Selected Later Poems, trans. Donald Revell (Wesleyan University Press, 2004)
The Little Auto, trans. Beverley Bie Brahic (CB editions, 2012)
"Zone", trans. David Lehman, in Virginia Quarterly Review (2013)[10]
Zone: Selected Poems, trans. Ron Padgett (New York Review Books, 2015)
Selected Poems, trans. Martin Sorrell (Oxford University Press, 2015)
French composer Francis Poulenc has set Apollinaire's poems to music in his five-part song cycle Banalités (1940), which in turned inspired Pink Martini's song Sympathique (je ne veux pas travailler in 1997.
Dutch composer Marjo Tal set some of Apollinaire’s poetry to music.[11]
French composer Denise Roger set Apollinaire’s poetry to music.[12]
Apollinaire is played by Seth Gabel in the 2018 television series Genius, which focuses on the life and work of Pablo Picasso.
La Chanson du mal-aimé, oratorio by Léo Ferré on Apollinaire's eponymous poem (from Alcools)
Monostich
Prix Guillaume Apollinaire
His full birth name in Polish is Wilhelm-Albert-Włodzimierz-Aleksander-Apolinary Kostrowicki (Belarusian: Гіём-Альберт-Уладзімір-Аляксандр-Апалінарый Кастравіцкі) of the Wąż coat of arms.
