huck

"...a bell of rose-coloured fire tolls in the clouds."

~Rimbaud (from 'Phrases', one of the Illumonations poems)

Another (from 'Mystical', also in Illuminations):

"The flower-strewn softness of the stars..."

Magic.

My advice on complete editions of Rimbaud: this one is good, but very pedantic, and not faithful to the sounds (rhymes etc.) of Rimbaud's poems; it's a very intellectual translation. This one is better, in my opinion. The translator tries to stay faithful to the originals, as well as making an effort to create vivid-sounding, heart-felt versions. The originals are printed on the left-hand pages.

Peace.

Funny, I've owned the first book for almost two years. And now I'm going to have to check out the other one.

Also, related to Billy, less than a year ago I excitedly drove to Salt Lake City's public library to catch a public reading of Ginsberg's "Howl" performed by some acclaimed gentleman I'd never heard of. My local community radio was actually broadcasting the event. The evening eventually concluded with me disappointedly shuffling to the local poolhall to vent physically over the terrible performance.

-SLR