Rimbaud: Complete Works, Selected Letters, a Bilingual Edition

Description

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 ouvre. Review: Read Rimbaud in French and English - I really don't understand any of the negative reviews on this page. Fowlie's translations are considered some of the best, even by scholars, and yes, this is the version that has inspired many other artists, actors, musicians, poets, and so forth. Fowlie's introduction is fitting and his inclusion of selected letters gives us an insightful look into the very language of Rimbaud. This is why I wanted to learn French. This keeps me learning French, and Rimbauds poems are absolutely stunning. If you want a good introduction to Rimbaud, select this volume of translations and then read Enid Starkie's wonderful biography of Rimbaud. Keep in mind this simple philosophy: the search for truth, history, and art is sometimes elusive and beyond our grasp. Rimbaud, to a certain extent, is always going to be elusive to the modern reader, and certainly personal and controversial for many reasons. However don't let this elusiveness stop you from buying this wonderful book. Review: Only French bilingual I know of! - If you want the complete works of Rimbaud in French this is your book. Great translation also!