Rimbaud

The enfant terrible of French letters, Jean-Nicholas-Arthur Rimbaud (1854-91) was a defiant and precocious youth who wrote some of the most remarkable prose and poetry of the nineteenth century, all before leaving the world of verse by the age of twenty-one. More than a century after his death, the young rebel-poet continues to appeal to modern readers as much for his turbulent life as for his poetry; his stormy affair with fellow poet Paul Verlaine and his nomadic adventures in eastern Africa are as iconic as his hallucinatory poems and symbolist prose. The first translation of the poet's complete works when it was published in 1966, "Rimbaud: Complete Works, Selected Letters" introduced a new generation of Americans to the alienated genius - among them the Doors's lead singer Jim Morrison, who wrote to translator Wallace Fowlie to thank him for rendering the poems accessible to those who "don't read French that easily." Forty years later, the book remains the only side-by-side bilingual edition of Rimbaud's complete poetic works. Thoroughly revising Fowlie's edition, Seth Whidden has made changes on virtually every page, correcting errors, reordering poems, adding previously omitted versions of poems and some letters, and updating the text to reflect current scholarship; left in place are Fowlie's literal and respectful translations of Rimbaud's complex and nontraditional verse. Whidden also provides a foreword that considers the heritage of Fowlie's edition and adds a bibliography that acknowledges relevant books that have appeared since the original publication. On its fortieth anniversary, "Rimbaud" remains the most authoritative - and now, completely up-to-date - edition of the young master's entire poetic oeuvre.

The enfant terrible of French letters, Jean-Nicholas-Arthur Rimbaud (1854-91) was a defiant and precocious youth who wrote some of the most remarkable prose and poetry of the nineteenth century, all before leaving the world of verse by the age of twenty-one. More than a century after his death, the young rebel-poet continues to appeal to modern readers as much for his turbulent life as for his poetry; his stormy affair with fellow poet Paul Verlaine and his nomadic adventures in eastern Africa are as iconic as his hallucinatory poems and symbolist prose. The first translation of the poet's complete works when it was published in 1966, "Rimbaud: Complete Works, Selected Letters" introduced a new generation of Americans to the alienated genius - among them the Doors's lead singer Jim Morrison, who wrote to translator Wallace Fowlie to thank him for rendering the poems accessible to those who "don't read French that easily." Forty years later, the book remains the only side-by-side bilingual edition of Rimbaud's complete poetic works. Thoroughly revising Fowlie's edition, Seth Whidden has made changes on virtually every page, correcting errors, reordering poems, adding previously omitted versions of poems and some letters, and updating the text to reflect current scholarship; left in place are Fowlie's literal and respectful translations of Rimbaud's complex and nontraditional verse. Whidden also provides a foreword that considers the heritage of Fowlie's edition and adds a bibliography that acknowledges relevant books that have appeared since the original publication. On its fortieth anniversary, "Rimbaud" remains the most authoritative - and now, completely up-to-date - edition of the young master's entire poetic oeuvre.

Graham Robb's brilliant biography moves Rimbaud on from his perpetual adolescence where our imaginations have held him to show the extent of his transformations. From phenomenally precocious schoolboy he became Europe's most shocking and exhilarating poet, author of poems that range from the exquisite to the obscene. But this brief, five-year period as the enfant-terrible of French literature is only one small side of Rimbaud's story. Robb takes us on a biographical journey through three continents and many different identities. Rimbaud emerges from this stunning work of biographical scholarship and historical imagination as an even more complex, ambiguous and fascinating figure than ever before.

Graham Robb's brilliant biography moves Rimbaud on from his perpetual adolescence where our imaginations have held him to show the extent of his transformations. From phenomenally precocious schoolboy he became Europe's most shocking and exhilarating poet, author of poems that range from the exquisite to the obscene. But this brief, five-year period as the enfant-terrible of French literature is only one small side of Rimbaud's story. Robb takes us on a biographical journey through three continents and many different identities. Rimbaud emerges from this stunning work of biographical scholarship and historical imagination as an even more complex, ambiguous and fascinating figure than ever before.

Et sted synger nobelpristageren Bob Dylan: ”Situations have ended sad/ Relationships have all been bad/ Mine have been like Verlaine's and Rimbaud's”. Men hvordan var deres forhold egentlig? Og var Rimbaud stofmisbruger? Og hvorfor døde han så tidligt? Den franske digter Arthur Rimbaud (1854-91), der formentlig mere end nogen anden kan siges at være den første moderne digter, har nu endelig fået en stor biografi på dansk. Ukendt da han døde - ud over hos avantgarden - har Rimbaud været en af ​​de mest befriende indflydelser på det 20. århundredes kultur. I løbet af sin levetid var han en borger-bashende visionær, og listen over hans kendte forbrydelser er længere end listen over hans offentliggjorte digte. Men hans postume karriere er endnu mere forbløffende - med indflydelse på kunstnere fra Picasso til Bob Dylan. Graham Robbs succesfulde biografi giver os alt, hvad man kan forvente af en sådan: barndomsfortællinger, oprørsk samfundskritik, arbejdet med at finde en ny litteratur, rejser, møder, venner og fjender. Med London, Paris, Belgien, Aden. Med hjemkomster, gæld, sygdom, hospitalsophold, skriverier og fremtidsvisioner, og død. Og hvem var så Rimbaud? ”Jeg har ikke fundet den Rimbaud jeg regnede med at finde,” skriver Robb, ”og jeg havde heller ikke regnet med at bruge lige så lang tid på denne bog som Rimbaud brugte på at skrive fire små kapitler der hver især repræsenterer et forskelligt stadium i den moderne poesis historie.”

Unknown beyond the avant-garde at the time of his death, Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891) has been one of the most destructive and liberating influences on twentieth-century culture. During his lifetime he was a bourgeois-baiting visionary, and the list of his known crimes is longer than the list of his published poems. But his posthumous career is even more astonishing: saint to symbolists and surrealists; poster child for anarchy and drug use; gay pioneer; a major influence on artists from Picasso to Bob Dylan.

Unknown beyond the avant-garde at the time of his death, Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891) has been one of the most destructive and liberating influences on twentieth-century culture. During his lifetime he was a bourgeois-baiting visionary, and the list of his known crimes is longer than the list of his published poems. But his posthumous career is even more astonishing: saint to symbolists and surrealists; poster child for anarchy and drug use; gay pioneer; a major influence on artists from Picasso to Bob Dylan.