Richard Le Gallienne
Richard Le Gallienne was an English poet, essayist, and journalist, born in Liverpool in 1866. He gained early recognition with his 1889 work "Volumes in Folio," which was appreciated by the Decadent movement, placing him in the same literary circles as notable figures like Oscar Wilde. Despite this association, Le Gallienne's literary style was rooted in Romanticism, as he distanced himself from the Decadent movement’s stylized aesthetics, often facing criticism for his sentimental approach. He spent significant time in New York during the early 20th century, struggling with the American literary scene and its commercialism, before relocating to Paris in the 1920s. While he interacted with prominent modernists, including James Joyce, he remained critical of their styles and preferred to avoid the mainstream literary community. After a decade in Paris, he settled in rural France, where he focused on writing memoirs and columns until his death in 1947. Despite producing a substantial body of work, including ninety books, Le Gallienne's legacy remains relatively obscure, largely due to his unconventional stance against the prevailing literary trends of his time.
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Subject Terms
Richard Le Gallienne
Poet
- Born: January 20, 1866
- Birthplace: Liverpool, England
- Died: 1947
- Place of death: Menton, France
Biography
Born Richard Thomas Le Gallienne in Liverpool in 1866, Le Gallienne published his first notable work, Volumes in Folio, in 1889. The work received acclaim from the Decadent movement, and Le Gallienne moved in the same circles as Oscar Wilde and Aubrey Beardsley, publishing frequently in John Lane’s Yellow Book. He was, however, not Decadent in spirit but a throwback to true Romanticism, rejecting the Decadents’ stylized romanticism.
Always ill at ease in modern society and a poor match with the predominant literary aesthetic—Decadent, Modernist, or otherwise—Le Gallienne rejected contemporary values. Critics frequently objected to the sentimentality and Old-World aesthetics of his work. He spent the first two decades of the twentieth century in New York, struggling to earn a living as a journalist and essayist.
Frustrated with American commercialism, he settled in Paris in the early 1920’s. Although he befriended James Joyce and other significant modernists of the Parisian literary scene and recognized their talent and significance, he objected to their aesthetics and did not associate with the literati of the Latin Quarter. Following his decade in Paris, Le Gallienne and his family moved to Merton, in rural France, where he spent the remainder of his life writing memoirs and newspaper columns. World War II finally compelled him to confront “contemporary life” in his columns, but his artistic and personal aesthetic remained determinedly Romantic. Although he produced ninety books and countless essays before his death in 1947, Le Gallienne remained obscure, probably due to this poor fit with his historical moment.