ARTHUR RIMBAUD: Complete Works

Only one, relatively small volume comprises the complete poetry, prose and letters of the 19th century Symbolist precursor whose major works were written between the ages of sixteen and nineteen. Legendary for his absinthe addiction, his atheism, his relationship with married fellow-poet Veriaine, gun-running activities in Africa, and a horrible death by cancer in Marseilles at the age of 37 -- he is one of history's greatest poets, one of the most powerful influences on modern poetry. Schmidt's new translations are faithful, but it's unfortunate that this could not have been a bilingual text.