KAHN, kin, Gustave, French poet, novel ist and literary critic: b. Metz, 1859. During his school days he began contributing poems, short stories, sketches and reviews to the newspapers and journals, and this he continued actively from 1880 on. He took a trip to Africa of which he made good literary use; and on his return to France in 1886, he joined hands with Moreas and Paul Adam founding Le Symboliste and La Vogue. From this time on he took a very active part in the "Symbolis tic° movement of which he became, in a sense, the most active leader. With Catulle Mendes and others he organized, in 1897, the "Mati nees of poets," with the avowed object of en couraging the younger symbolistic writers to be come still more symbolistic. These matinees were held successively at the Odeon, Antoine and Sarah Bernhardt theatres. Kahn has been largely interested in the vers libre movement, and he has been put forward as the inventor of this form of poetry which has been so much abused, especially in the United States i and which has consequently born such notoriously bad fruit. This claim, however, has been
strenuously contestea. There is something at tractive about much of the symbolistic vers libre of Kahn; but the brood that he and his symbolistic followers have encouraged in the journals and reviews under their control or at their disposition, have proved scarcely worth the rearing, since most of them are compelled to limp through their literary life in a manner painful to themselves and to their readers. In recognition of his services to literature Kahn has been made an officer of the Legion of Honor. Among his published works are 'Les palais nomades> (1887) ; 'Chansons d'amant' (1891) ; 'Premiers poimes) (1897) ; roi foil) (1895) ; 'Les fleurs de passion' (1900) : 'L'Adultere sentimental> (1902); et dicadents) (1903) ; 'Contes Hollandais) (1904); de la rue> (1905); 'Boucher' (1909).