Rimbaud Suite

Arthur Rimbaud is a French poet, born October 20, 1854 in Charleville and died November 10, 1891 in Marseille. Although brief, the density of his poetic work made Arthur Rimbaud one of the foremost figures in French literature.

Arthur Rimbaud wrote his first poems at fifteen. According to him, the poet must be “clairvoyant” and “one must be absolutely modern”. He maintains a tumultuous romantic adventure with the poet Paul Verlaine. At the age of twenty, he suddenly gave up writing, without having yet been really published, to devote himself more to reading, as well as to the pursuit of his language practice.

His marginal, anti-bourgeois and libertarian ideas push him to choose an adventurous life, whose peregrinations lead him to Abyssinia, where he becomes a merchant (hardware, bazaar, clothes, coffee etc.), if not Explorer. His attempt to arm Menelik with the support of the French Consul proved disastrous for him. Its unique “arms trade” had only a symbolic political impact, but contributed to its legend. Of this second, exotic life, the only known writings consist of nearly 180 letters (family and professional correspondence) and some geographical descriptions.

Worms like those of the Bateau ivre, Le Dormeur du val or Voyelles are among the most famous of French poetry. The precocity of his genius and his adventurous life help to forge the legend of the poet.