Rimbaud, A Biograpy

Unknown beyond the avant-garde at the time of his death, Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891) has been one of the most destructive and liberating influences on twentieth-century culture. He was the first poet to devise a scientifically plausible method for changing the nature of existence, the first to live a homosexual adventure as a model for social change, and the first to repudiate the myths on which his reputation still depends. Rimbaud's abandonment of poetry in his early twenties has caused more lasting, widespread consternation than the break-up of the Beatles. Even in the mid-1880s, when the French Decadents were hailing him as a 'Messiah', he was already several reincarnations from his starting point." "Robb's Rimbaud is a biographical journey through three continents and many different identities: the Bohemian poet in Victorian London, the mercenary in Java, the gunrunner and explorer in East Africa. By allowing the boy poet to grow up, Robb casts his later years in an entirely new light.