New Releases by Arthur Rimbaud

A Season in Hell is an extended poem written and published by French writer Arthur Rimbaud. The book had a considerable influence on later artists and poets, for example the Surrealists. Henry Miller was important in introducing Rimbaud to America in the sixties. He once attempted an English translation of the book and wrote an extended essay on Rimbaud and A Season in Hell titled The Time of the Assassins. The poem is loosely divided into nine parts, some of which are much shorter than others. They differ markedly in tone and narrative comprehensibility, with some, such as "Bad Blood," ''being much more obviously influenced by Rimbaud''s drug use than others, some argue. Academic critics have arrived at many varied and often entirely incompatible conclusions as to what meaning and philosophy may or may not be contained in the text, and will continue to do so.

Included here are poems by the American poet, Will James and two French poets translated by James: Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891) and Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867). Baudelaire and Rimbaud ushered in the modern world in all its psychological complexities. Will James continues this exploration in the age of television and nuclear weapons: "The Pinball Wizard of Las Vegas" (for Larry) I walked around in a kind of bubble. I could look out but no one could look in. I took only shallow breaths, the air was thin, the oxygen limited. No one knew about the dark thing that held me captive. In Las Vegas, my favorite cousin mangled his hand between the whirring blades of a machine. All that remained was a partial palm. I was ten; he was sixteen. Soon he arrived at my grandmother''s house and I had to face the horror of what he had lost. His palm was bandaged, hidden from view, wrapped up like a miniature mummy. He held a white, plastic ball and tossed it to me. I tossed it back; he caught it by pulling on the bottom of his shirt, using it as a kind of glove for the ball to softly land. My fears of facing him vanished. I was free. How did he know how I had suffered? Later the Las Vegas Sun wrote an article about him and his prowess at pinball (using just one hand and a palm). He would often sit in front of his house, drinking beer, watching over his muscle car; and when a can was thrown at his metallic prize, he would be off to the Vegas Strip, chasing after the perpetrator. Still later, he worked for the Department of Defense at the Nevada Test Site. He held the highest of security clearances. He married. But he knew the dark side of man''s inventiveness, of man''s machines. He knew that they could bite, that accidents happen. So he quit his job. His wife took pills and he drank. The money ran out, there were fights. It ended with the suicide of his bride. He became emaciated and depressed. His bones poked through his skin like rocks. Somehow he seemed to hover above us all. Then the convulsions began and he fell through the clouds, a diver, free falling, tumbling, without wings, without a chute.

To the ReaderMasochism, error, sin, avarice, Occupy our psyches and tax our bodies, Like beggars we nourish our vermin,Fed by our neurosis and remorse. Our sins are hardheaded, our repentance feeble; We pay a high price for our false confessions, Even as we happily return to our dark ways, Believing that our phony tears will wash us clean.Satan, that Triune magistrate, Lulls and rocks us to sleep, enchanting our minds, And the precious metal of our will Is vaporized by this cunning alchemist.This puppet master holds the strings! In filth, we discover charms unimagined; And with each step, like automatons,We descend into the stench, into Hell.Like someone who kisses and bites The breast of an ancient whore, We take our clandestine pleasureAnd squeeze and suckle on a dried up orange. A million maggots swarm and a legion of DemonsInhabit our brains. When we breathe,Death enters us, its torrents and unseen wavesMuffling our whimpering cries.If rape, poison, arson and daggers have not wovenAnd embroidered their unique mark Into the banal canvas of our lives, It is because our souls are blank.But among the jackals, the panthers, the bitchesThe apes, the scorpions, the vultures,The snakes, the whining and howling monsters,The mongrels, in the menagerie of our vices,There is one uglier, more decrepit! Although he makes neither grand gestures nor wailing cries, He would willingly turn the world to ruins, And, in one gulp, swallow the earth;He is boredom -- His eyes wet with disdain, He dreams of towering guillotines as he puffs his hookah.You know him, that delicate monster,-- Reader hypocrite -- my alter -- my double!

Enduring icon of creativity, authenticity, and rebellion, and the subject of numerous new biographies, Arthur Rimbaud is one of the most repeatedly scrutinized literary figures of the last half-century. Yet almost thirty years have elapsed without a major new translation of his writings. Remedying this state of affairs is Rimbaud Complete, the first and only truly complete edition of Rimbaud’s work in English, translated, edited, and introduced by Wyatt Mason. Mason draws on a century of Rimbaud scholarship to choreograph a superbly clear-eyed presentation of the poet’s works. He arranges Rimbaud’s writing chronologically, based on the latest manuscript evidence, so readers can experience the famously teenaged poet’s rapid evolution, from the lyricism of “Sensation” to the groundbreaking early modernism of A Season in Hell. In fifty pages of previously untranslated material, including award-winning early verses, all the fragmentary poems, a fascinating early draft of A Season in Hell, a school notebook, and multiple manuscript versions of the important poem “O saisons, ô chateaux,” Rimbaud Complete displays facets of the poet unknown to American readers. And in his Introduction, Mason revisits the Rimbaud myth, addresses the state of disarray in which the poet left his work, and illuminates the intricacies of the translator’s art. Mason has harnessed the precision and power of the poet’s rapidly changing voice: from the delicate music of a poem such as “Crows” to the mature dissonance of the Illuminations, Rimbaud Complete unveils this essential poet for a new generation of readers.

A reissue of Rimbaud’s highly influential work, with a new preface by Patti Smith and the original 1945 New Directions cover design by Alvin lustig. New Directions is pleased to announce the relaunch of the long-celebrated bilingual edition of Rimbaud’s A Season In Hell & The Drunken Boat — a personal poem of damnation as well as a plea to be released from “the examination of his own depths.” Rimbaud originally distributed A Season In Hell to friends as a self-published booklet, and soon afterward, at the age of nineteen, quit poetry altogether. New Directions’s edition was among the first to be published in the U.S., and it quickly became a classic. Rimbaud’s famous poem “The Drunken Boat” was subsequently added to the first paperbook printing. Allen Ginsberg proclaimed Arthur Rimbaud as “the first punk” — a visionary mentor to the Beats for both his recklessness and his fiery poetry. This new edition proudly dons the original Alvin Lustig–designed cover, and a introduction by another famous rebel — and now National Book Award–winner — Patti Smith.

One of the most written-about literary figures in the past decade, Arthur Rimbaud left few traces when he abandoned poetry at age twenty-one and disappeared into the African desert. Although the dozen biographies devoted to Rimbaud’s life depend on one main source for information—his own correspondence—a complete edition of these remarkable letters has never been published in English. Until now. A moving document of decline, Rimbaud’s letters begin with the enthusiastic artistic pronouncements of a fifteen-year-old genius, and end with the bitter what-ifs of a man whose life has slipped disastrously away. But whether soapboxing on the essence of art, or struggling under the yoke of self-imposed exile in the desert of his later years, Rimbaud was incapable of writing an uninteresting sentence. As translator and editor Wyatt Mason makes clear in his engaging Introduction, the letters reveal a Rimbaud very different from our expectations. Rimbaud—presented by many biographers as a bohemian wild man—is unveiled as “diligent in his pursuit of his goals . . . wildly, soberly ambitious, in poetry, in everything.” I Promise to Be Good: The Letters of Arthur Rimbaud is the second and final volume in Mason’s authoritative presentation of Rimbaud’s writings. Called by Edward Hirsch “the definitive translation for our time,” Mason’s first volume, Rimbaud Complete (Modern Library, 2002), brought Rimbaud’s poetry and prose into vivid focus. In I Promise to Be Good, Mason adds the missing epistolary pieces to our picture of Rimbaud. “These letters,” he writes, “are proofs in all their variety—of impudence and precocity, of tenderness and rage—for the existence of Arthur Rimbaud.” I Promise to Be Good allows English-language readers to see with new eyes one of the most extraordinary poets in history.

Text in English and French. Known only to literati since its original small press publication in 1975 and two subsequent small press editions, widely published poet Eric Greinke''s innovative American versions of Rimbaud''s best poems have received critical acclaim as the best translations of Rimbaud to date. Available for the first time as a full-length book, these translations have received high praise from fellow poets-translators such as Robert Bly and Leslie H Whitten. These versions restore the music and imagery of the originals for English-language readers. Greinke was among the first American poets to prioritise poetic elements in translation, breaking tradition with the more literal but less literate ''old school'' approach. Contains 35 of Rimbaud''s works accompanied by the original French, including Greinke''s hauntingly evocative version of "The Drunken Boat", a poem considered by many to be the single best poem ever written in any language. Includes a twelve page introduction by the poet-translator and an index of first lines. A ''must have'' for all students and readers of classic poetry.

Translated, edited and with an Introduction by Wyatt Mason “The definitive translation for our time.” –Edward Hirsch From Dante’s Inferno to Sartre’s No Exit, writers have been fascinated by visions of damnation. Within that rich literature of suffering, Arthur Rimbaud’s A Season in Hell–written when the poet was nineteen–provides an astonishing example of the grapple with self. As a companion to Rimbaud’s journey, readers could have no better guide than Wyatt Mason. One of our most talented young translators and critics, Mason’s new version of A Season in Hell renders the music and mystery of Rimbaud’s tale of Hell on Earth with exceptional finesse and power. This bilingual edition includes maps, a helpful chronology of Rimbaud’s life, and the unfinished suite of prose poems, Illuminations. With A Season in Hell, they cement Rimbaud’s reputation as one of the foremost, and most influential, writers in French literature.

A phenomenonally precicious schoolboy, Rimbaud was still a teenager when he became notorious as Europe''s most shocking and exhilarating poet. During his brief 5-year reign as the enfant terrible of French literature he produced an extraordinary body of poems that range from the exquisite to the obsene, while simultaneously living a life of dissolute excess with his lover and fellow poet, Verlaine. At the age of 21, he abandonned poetry and travelled across Europe before settling in Africa as an arms trader. This edition sets the two sides of Rimbaud side by side with a sparkling translation of his most exhilarating poetry and a generous selection of the letters from the harsh and colourful period of his life as a colonial trader.

''Rimbaud, the poet of revolt, and the greatest'' Albert Camus Rimbaud is the enfant terrible of French literature, the precocious genius whose extraordinary poetry is revolutionary in its visionary, hallucinatory content and its often liberated forms. He wrote all his poems between the ages of about 15 and 21, after which he turned his back on family, friends, and France to roam the world. In his final years he was a trader in the Horn of Africa. Out of the brief, colourful life and the poetry of sensory wildness has been created the myth of Rimbaud, an enduring icon of youth, rebellion, and freedom. But behind the myth lies a poetic adventure of high ambition and painful rigour, poignant yet heroic. Rimbaud is one of the greatest French poets of all times. This bilingual edition provides all of Rimbaud''s poems, with the exception of his Latin verses and some small fragments. It also includes some of his prose pieces, chosen because they offer a commentary on his poetic concerns. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World''s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford''s commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Arthur Rimbaud is remembered as much for his volatile personality and tumultuous life as he is for his writings, most of which he produced before the age of eighteen. This book brings together his poetry, prose, and letters, including "The Drunken Boat," "The Orphans'' New Year," "After the Flood," and "A Season in Hell," considered by many to be his. Complete Works is divided into eight "seasons"--Childhood, The Open Road, War, The Tormented Heart, The Visionary, The Damned Soul, A Few Belated Cowardices, and The Man with the Wind at His Heels--that reflect the facets of Rimbaud''s life. Insightful commentary by translator and editor Paul Schmidt reveals the courage, vision, and imagination of Rimbaud''s poetry and sheds light on one of the most enigmatic figures in letters.

CHARLES NICHOLL, author of SOMEBODY ELSE: ARTHUR RIMBAUD IN AFRICA 1880-91 has written of Dennis J. Carlile''s translation of RIMBAUD:THE WORKS. "These are the best renditions of Rimbaud in English since Wallace Fowlie''s nearly forty years ago, and many of them surpass that high standard. These poems have been wrestled with, which is the very least they demand, and successfully brought back home. Carlile gets the difficult switches and swoops of tone mostly right, and the linguistic detail is impressive-- for ''un voix etraignait mon coeur gele'' you can''t get much better than ''a voice would hobble my frostbitten heart''." This new translation of Rimbaud is the first in English to include the fragments and a "Found Poem" in English. Notes and commentary along with a life-chronology and "selected further media" assist the reader in delving into these darkly brilliant visions. RIMBAUD: THE WORKS is the first new English version of this poet''s work in 25 years. It contains all of his extant work from 1869 to 1875. The book is laid out in four parts. PART ONE contains "A Season In Hell" (1873) along with Delmore Schwartz''s perceptive introduction (out of print for over half a century). PART TWO contains all the poetry and prose pieces composed between 1869 and 1875, including THE DRUNKEN BOAT, the "Album Zutique" and the fragments called "Bribes" first published by Gallimard in 1954. PART THREE consists of "Illuminations" (c. 1872 74) with a brief preface culled from Enid Starkie´s ARTHUR RIMBAUD. "Illuminations" is lineated according to the author''s manuscript (published in facsimile with facing print text by Editions Bibliothèque de l''Image 1998) and the order of the text is that of the manuscript. A set of notes for each section defines obscure geographic, linguistic, historical, and mythological allusions found in the text. PART FOUR presents a chronology of the poet''s life, followed by selected commentary from Aldous Huxley, William H. Gass, Marie-Louise von Franz, Paul Verlaine, Jefferson Humphries, Bertrand Mathieu, Sean Lennon, and Ralph Vaughan Williams, among others. A guide to selected further media (books, music, CD-ROM, video, and film) is also included. [Aside from "Illuminations," which is based on the manuscript copy, the French texts utilized for the translation were those of Gallimard (ed. Forestier) and Flammarion (ed. Steinmetz).] Cover portrait and frontispiece of Rimbaud plus three illustrations by Alexia Montibon.

The Everyman''s Library Pocket Poets hardcover series is popular for its compact size and reasonable price which does not compromise content. Poems: Rimbaud contains selections from Rimbaud''s work, including over 100 poems, selected prose, "Letter to Paul Demeny, May 15, 1871," and an index of first lines.

Features A Season in Hell, one of the great works of modern literature, and many of the verse poems which Rimbaud wrote between March 1870 and August 1872.

"With skill and imagination, Bertrand Mathieu gives us an intimacy of the spoken American that allows readers to absorb themselves in Rimbaud''s private drama as in an obsessive dream of our own.... Mathieu has earned our gratitude and praise for his accomplishment: to have given Rimbaud his contemporary relevance for us."--David Ignatow

Although he abandoned poetry before he was twenty-one years old, and wrote for only five or six years in all, Arthur Rimbaud has had an extraordinary influence on modern poetry. His work helped inspire poetic Symbolism, Dadaism, and Surrealism. Rimbaud dreamed of re-creating life through his words. Not content merely to describe the world, he longed to reorder it through his revolutionary poetry. He rebelled against all forms of hypocrisy, as well as against conventional concepts of love, morality, religion, and art. He even dreamed of liberating women from "endless servitude." Written a century ago, A Season in Hell and The Illuminations read like the works of an avant-garde poet of today. In her Introduction dealing with Rimbaud''s life and work, Enid Rhodes Peschel discusses his concept of the voyant, the poet-visionary he dreamed of becoming through a "reasoned deranging of all his senses." A Season in Hell, which combines autobiography with self-appraisal, vision and hallucination, reflects Rimbaud''s tortures in trying to be a voyant. The forty-two poems of The Illuminations, kaleidoscopic evocations of a universe in continual evolution, are further evidence of his attempts to reach this transcendent state. Enid Rhodes Peschel has succeeded in not only translating these works but in recreating them. Eye, ear, mind, and heart have all been engaged in her effort to capture the tone and rhythm of Rimbaud''s language as well as the quality of his thought. Book jacket.

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.

The classic influential poems by Rimbaud, in a bilingual en face edition featuring acclaimed translations by Louise Varése.

Rimbaud, born in 1854, started to write at an early age. By 17 he had written his most famous poem, ''The Drunken Boat''. He then embarked on a turbulent homosexual relationship with the poet Verlaine, from which came some of their most original work, including A Season in Hell and Illuminations. Rimbaud rejected writing at the age of 20. After years of travelling and gun-running in Africa, he died in 1891, aged 37.