Émile Verhaeren

Émile Verhaeren

1855–1916

Émile Verhaeren (1855–1916) was a Belgian poet who wrote in French, a leading figure of Symbolism. Born near Antwerp, he trained as a lawyer before turning to poetry with Les Flamandes (1883), vivid scenes of Flemish life.

After a period of dark, anguished verse (Les Soirs, Les Débâcles, Les Flambeaux noirs), he wrote of the modern industrial world in Les Campagnes hallucinées and Les Villes tentaculaires (1895), and tender love poems to his wife in Les Heures claires. He was several times nominated for the Nobel Prize and died in a railway accident in Rouen in 1916.

Best-known poems

All poems (622)

A 37

B 3

C 39

D 21

E 8

F 7

G 2

H 10

I 5

J 9

K 2

L 349

M 21

N 4

O 5

P 18

Q 4

R 7

S 29

T 6

U 20

V 15

Y 1