“Baudelaire is the first seer, king of poets, a true God.”

Original: Baudelaire est le premier voyant, roi des poètes, un vrai Dieu. — Rimbaud identifies Baudelaire as the crucial predecessor of the visionary poetry he seeks to develop. · Letter to Paul Demeny, 15 May 1871 (French)

• Influence
• Poetry
• Vision

“I am going to make a work for the Geographical Society, with maps and engravings, on Harar and the Galla countries.”

Original: Je vais faire un ouvrage pour la Société de géographie, avec des cartes et des gravures, sur le Harar et les pays Gallas. — The project shows Rimbaud redirecting his energy from poetry towards exploration, geography and practical knowledge. · Letter to his family from Aden, 18 January 1882 (French)

• Discovery
• Knowledge
• Travel

“The years pass; I lead a stupid existence, I accumulate no income, and I shall never achieve what I want in these countries.”

Original: Les années se passent, je mène une existence stupide, je n’amasse pas de rentes, je n’arriverai jamais à ce que je voudrais, dans ces pays. — The remark conveys Rimbaud’s frustration with the gap between his ambitions and the life he was actually leading. · Letter from Aden, 15 January 1885 (French)

• Achievement
• Discontentment
• Exile