Arthur Rimbaud (Outlines)

Consortium welcomes Outlines from Absolute Press, an impressive and mature series chronicling the lives of some of the most exceptional and influential gay and lesbian artists of our time.

Arthur Rimbaud is one of the most remarkable figures in the history of poetry. A true prodigy, he had fully arrived as a poet and composed three acknowledged masterpieces--A Season in Hell, The Drunken Boat and Illuminations--before the age of 20. He had also engaged in a two-year affair with another extremely talented French poet of the fin de si cle, Paul Verlaine. Although no one doubts that the affair took place, its meaning has remained almost as controversial in the 20th century as it was in the 19th. Some have hailed Rimbaud as a gay icon, while others have tried to cast doubt on whether his relationship with the older poet revealed his real preferences or was simply an experiment intended to further his project of "disordering the senses." Ivry's brief biography, the second title in the Outlines series dedicated to exploring the ways that homosexuality has affected the lives of artists, writers and other creative people, delves deeply into the relationship, and especially its sexual aspects, referring to the pair simply as "V&R." Ivry (Paradise for the Portuguese Queen) holds back no detail, whether it be possible dalliances with other men, misogynistic outbursts, graphically sexual poems, medical reports or the couple's well-documented public s&m games (which ended with Rimbaud in the hospital with a gunshot wound and Verlaine in jail). In the end, marshaling overwhelming evidence, Ivry ensures that his subject's story isn't set too straight, and demonstrates that Rimbaud was indeed self-consciously and gladly a lover of men.

Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

These short biographies belong to the "Outlines" series, which serves to introduce the lives and works of significant gay and lesbian writers, artists, singers, dancers, composers, and actors. Although compact, they are quite dense, and each includes a bibliography and a list of recommended readings. Donoghue (Passions Between Women: British Lesbian Culture, 1668-1801, HarperCollins, 1996) uses nearly 30 volumes of letters and journals to tell the story of the two Englishwomen who shared the pseudonym Michael Field: Katherine Bradley (1846-1914) and Edith Cooper (1862-1913). Donoghue sheds light on the obscure careers of these women, who collaborated to write 30 plays and 11 volumes of poetry. More than co-writers, the two women were aunt and niece as well as lovers. Donoghue provides an engaging, informal overview of their history, including family origins, their decision to use a male pseudonym, their rise to fame, their intimate relationship, and their colorful circle of friends. French scholar Ivry (he translated Todd Olivier's Albert Camus, LJ 11/15/97) has the Herculean task of condensing the life story of the poet Arthur Rimbaud (1854-91) into a handful of chapters, which he does admirably well. Rimbaud, considered one of France's greatest modern poets, created complex poems that used language in ways that had never been attempted in poetry. Ivry covers the evidence of Rimbaud's early genius as a schoolboy, his fateful meeting with the poet Paul Verlaine and their tempestuous love affair, the aftermath of their breakup, Rimbaud's phenomenal prowess as a poet (he reached the zenith of his career at 20), his travels, and his continuing influence on artists today. For more in-depth biographical information on Michael Field and Arthur Rimbaud, consult Mary C. Sturgeon's Michael Field (1922; Ayer, 1975. reprint) and Enid Starkie's Arthur Rimbaud (Norton, 1968. reprint). Recommended for larger collections of gay and lesbian materials.AKimberly L. Clarke, Univ. of Minnesota Lib. Minneapolis
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.