Guillaume Apollinaire (French: [ɡijom apɔlinɛʁ]; 26 August 1880 – 9 November 1918) (born as Wilhelm Albert Włodzimierz Apolinary de Wąż-Kostrowicki) was a French poet, playwright, short story writer, novelist, and art critic of Polish-Belarusian descent. Apollinaire was also active as a journalist and art critic for Le Matin, L'Intransigeant, L'Esprit nouveau, Mercure de France, and Paris Journal. In 1912 Apollinaire cofounded Les Soirées de Paris, an artistic and literary magazine.