Belgian poet who wrote in the French language, and one of the chief founders of the school of Symbolism.

Lawyer training.

Pacifism.

Inspired by the paintings of Jacob Jordaens, David Teniers and Jan Steen, Verhaeren described in a direct and often provocative, naturalistic way his country and the Flemish people. It was an immediate success in avant-garde milieus, but caused a great deal of controversy in Catholic circles.

Waged a fight against social injustice and the decline of life in the countryside.

Emile Verhaeren was a Belgian poet, art critic and wrote short stories and verse plays.  He was born at St Amand lez-Pueres, NC Belgium on May 21st of 1855.      He studied law at the University of Louvain and while there started a journal, La Semaine, which was suppressed by the authorities as well as the following work Le Type.  He was admitted to the bar at Brussels in 1881 but soon began devoting his time to literature, writing in French.  He was soon one of the leading figures of the Belgian literary renaissance.    His poetry hovers between powerful sensuality, as in Les Flamandes (1883) and the harrowing despair of Les Debacles (1888). Among his most notabl