LESMIAN, BOLESLAW

born Jan. 12, 1878, Warsaw died Nov. 5, 1937, Warsaw original name BolesLaw Lesman lyric poet among the first to adapt Symbolism and Expressionism to Polish verse. Of Jewish origin, Lesmian was educated in Kiev, wrote some of his early poems in Russian, and spent most of his life practicing law in a provincial town. In later years he was elected to the Polish Academy of Literature. His small output includes Sad rozstajny (1912; Orchard); Laka (1920; The Meadow), the volume that established his reputation; Napj cienisty (1936; The Shadowy Drink); and Dziejba lesna (1938; Woodland Tale). Though the difficulty of his work, which is often symbolic in nature, tended to obscure its excellence, Lesmian has nevertheless achieved widespread recognition since his death.