“Poetry will no longer set the rhythm of action; it will be in advance…” — Arthur Rimbaud

“Poetry will no longer set the rhythm of action; it will be in advance of it.”

Original: La poésie ne rythmera plus l’action; elle sera en avant. — Rimbaud gives poetry a prophetic role, imagining it as something that anticipates rather than merely reflects change. · Letter to Paul Demeny, 15 May 1871 (French)

Arthur Rimbaud

About Arthur Rimbaud

20 October 1854–10 November 1891

Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud was born on 20 October 1854 in Charleville, in the Ardennes region of northeastern France, and died on 10 November 1891 in Marseille. Few writers have produced so small a body of work and so immense a legend. Rimbaud wrote nearly all the poetry for which he is remembered between his…

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“I do not arrive at what I would like in these countries.”

Original: Je n’arriverai jamais à ce que je voudrais, dans ces pays. — The remark conveys a persistent sense of thwarted ambition despite years of effort abroad. · Letter from Aden, 15 January 1885 (French)

“I cannot enjoy my earnings.”

Original: Je ne puis jouir de mon gain. — Rimbaud recognises that relentless work has deprived him of the very leisure his earnings should have provided. · Letter from Aden, 1884 (French)

“I understand that I was always of an inferior race.”

Original: Je comprends que j’ai toujours été de race inférieure. — The statement deepens the work’s exploration of inherited identity, estrangement and refusal of conventional belonging. · A Season in Hell, Bad Blood, 1873 (French)

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About Arthur Rimbaud

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