Arthur Rimbaud

French writer of some of the most remarkable poems in the French language. His works were written between the ages of 15 and 21, at which time he left writing to travel extensively.

His father deserted the family in 1860, leaving the boy with a very severe mother; Rimbaud made numerous attempts at running away. A teacher, Georges Izambard, influenced him to begin writing, his first published verse at 15. When he was 17, he composed the poem, "The Drunken Boat," which he submitted to Paul Verlaine. Verlaine was so impressed with the young man's abilities that he implored him to move to Paris. They began a strong, stormy relationship, with Verlaine attempting to kill Rimbaud twice, the latter of the two injuries very serious. His writing, "A Season in Hell," was written in 1873, the year that he was shot by Paul Verlaine in a lover's quarrel, giving an allegorical accounting of the matter.

In 1880, Rimbaud moved to North Africa to become a trader, explorer, gunrunner and possibly slave trader. While he was in Africa, Verlaine assumed that he was dead and published his prose poems, "Les Illuminations," 1886, which the majority of critics agree is Rimbaud's greatest work. This book contains the famous "Sonnet of the Vowels," in which each of the five vowels is associated with different colors. The poem, "Une Saison," was a spiritual autobiography saying farewell to poetry, his very last writings.

On 27 May 1891, Rimbaud had his right leg and thigh amputated due to a neoplasm in the knee. Suffering from syphilis, and not fully recovered from his operation, he died on 10 November 1891, 10:00 AM, Marseilles, France.