Douglas wrote:
> I oredered and read Enid Starkie's book from my local library thirty
> years ago before a proper translation of the poems
> came into my hand. So I have always had the legend stretched
> out before me. Perhaps this is why on rereading Rimbaud I always
> return to my favourite Season in Hell. This to me is my seminal
> piece of literature and will always endure.
Others on the list must have seen a recent article in the TLS on the
auction in Paris of the largest collection of Rimbaud manuscripts in
private hands. If you missed it, the room was apparently filled with
journos and tv crews who held their breath when the first lot, the
lettre du voyant, came up for auction. Auctioneer asked bids to
start at French equivalent of stlg150,000. First bid was stlg300,000 (I
assume this was Doug Oliver or Alice Notley) then a government
official called out that the French govt. were exercising their droit
de something or other and keeping the collection for France.
Douglas, you might be interested to know that Graham Robb, who I
think has authored celebrated biographies of Balzac and Hugo (?), is
at work on what must be the first full-scale biography of the poet
since Starkie`s. He has expressed relief at the actions of the
French govt. because the cranky old bastard who hung on to the mss.
for years was notoriously mean about access to scholars.
robin
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