Arthur Rimbaud

Arthur Rimbaud (b. 1854, Charleville, d. 1891, Marseille) was one of the most influential poets and role model for the Surrealists. He created his main work before he turned 19. "I have never belonged to this people, I have never been a Christian, I am of the race that sings in torture. I do not understand the laws. I have no morals. I am an animal, a Negro." As a restless spirit, he wanted to join the rebellious Paris Communards in 1971, was arrested, then led an excessive life in Paris, seduced Paul Verlaine and lived with him. The friendship ended abruptly when Verlaine injured him in an argument with a pistol shot. In 1874 Rimbaud decided to stop writing and despised his work for the rest of his life. He hired to the Dutch Foreign Legion on Java, deserted, became a traveling circus employee on Java, overseer in a quarry in Cyprus, coffee trader and arms dealer in the Horn of Africa. One of his most interesting and successful business ideas was to have high-quality drinking vessels for the Ethiopian honey wine Tej manufactured in France, imported and distributed in Ethiopia. His acquaintances included the Prime Minister of Ethiopia and the Governor of Harar. Rimbaud's early death in 1981 was caused by a knee tumor.

"je est un autre" / "Le bateau ivre" / "Un temps en enfer" / "Les illuminations"