Arthur Rimbaud: Presence of an Enigma [Paperback]

Jean-Luc Steinmetz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 22, 2002

From the enigmatic poet's very first writings to his life as a wandering trader in Arabia and Harar, Jean-Luc Steinmetz delivers here the first biography which, rather than dividing Rimbaud's life in two halves, brings out the spiritual and logical continuity underlying his 36-year long pursuit of desire>

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In the foreword to his new biography of poet-adventurer Rimbaud, Steinmetz, who edited the 1989 Editions Flammarion Complete Works of Rimbaud, asserts that, as a narrator, he will allow Rimbaud's actions to give birth to their own significance, rather than overburden them with qualification. In practice, Steinmetz has as much difficulty refraining from laudatory remarks as a sportscaster. At a certain point in the development of his poetic style, Rimbaud quits the use of references to the Parisian Commune, which had saturated much of his previous work; according to Steinmetz, he is suddenly "on the same wavelength as eternity." The poet's constant irritation with his family is always considered just; his lack of sympathy for his lover, Paul Verlaine, is seen as the rightful rejection of a pathetic companion. Steinmetz allows as little interpretive leeway as conceivable in recounting a life that seethes with contradiction, spontaneity and violent longing. To his credit, Steinmetz is able to communicate the alternating spasms of self-love and self-loathing that seem to have animated Rimbaud's existence and driven him to devour, then abandon, creative media from poetry, to carnal desire, to compulsive travel. Yet, for all Steinmetz's enthusiasm, the real Rimbaud remains, as the biographer himself repeatedly asserts, "someone who cannot be found." These pages constitute a vivid retelling of the Rimbaud legend; but Rimbaud the human being, almost completely obscured by that legend, continues to evade definition. (Mar.)Forecast: Graham Robb's "robust" but equally mythologizing Rimbaud came out last October. Steinmetz, however, does a better job of communicating the sense of an erratic but exciting mind at work. This should appeal to readers of poetry and French literature.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

“Jean-Luc Steinmetz’s Arthur Rimbaud: Presence of an Enigma is an outstanding piece of work." -- Times Literary Supplement

“May be the most comprehensive and readable biography of this problematic poet ... A work of affectionate devotion and unflinching honesty.” -- Los Angeles Times --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Welcome Rain Publishers (May 22, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566492513
• ISBN-13: 978-1566492515
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,960,200 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The enigma of presence, April 12, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Arthur Rimbaud: Presence of an Enigma (Hardcover)

The presence of an enigma, the enigma of presence: The Steinmetz book oscillates between these two poles, revealing one as it obscures the other, before begining the process over again. A clarifying agent -- yes, certainly; the culmination of decades of research -- no doubt. Authoritative, provocative, at times compelling, Steinmetz has returned to us the challenge of a poet and a man that we continue to face, facing ourselves as we do so. And this, I believe, is the final worth of this book. Mirror and lens, it reflects and refracts as much as we care to give into it; as much as we care to take the challenge of Rimbaud seriously for our place and our time.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars La Figlia Che Piange, March 2, 2006

By 

craigston mullen "craigston" (cambridge, massachussetts) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Arthur Rimbaud: Presence of an Enigma (Hardcover)

This is the motherlode. As of this moment there is a French tri-colour upon the pinnacle...the very tip of the iceberg in that chaos of polar ice and night which is Rimbaud at his best. I read all Rimbaud scholarship, and I haven't missed a thing of note for the past 35 years, and I give the nod to Mssr. Steinmetz for achivement becoming a "genie" of synpathetic understanding and scholarly rigour. There will always be need for more on Rimbaud, and just because this book is the greatest so far...I implore you...still read it all beginning with Isabel and her husband, and Delahaye up until this day March 2, 2006. It is the Greatest Story Ever Told. No serious person should miss it. "By the brother's boot it stinks fresh."