Happy Deathday Monsieur Rimbaud!

In 1891, on November 10th, French poet and adventurer Arthur Rimbaud died at the age of 37 by what is presumed now to have been cancer though he was treated for tuberculosis, syphilis and arthritis.

Rimbaud’s work is moving, dark and can in some cases, only best be described as an open wound - sore, raw, exposed and vibrant. Some of our favorite works by Rimbaud include Une Saison en Enfer and Illuminations, although admittedly A Season in Hell (Une Saison en Enfer) is his most famous work.

By the time Rimbaud was nineteen years old, he had lived so voraciously and had experienced so much, with the help of poet Paul Verlaine, that he had become deeply disillusioned and determined to abandon Europe and literature altogether!  It is quite remarkable that the deeply stirring poetry he is now so very renowned for was all written by age 19!

The poet truly led a fascinating life, both as a writer and after that, as a merchant in many exotic places.  If you are interested in a great biography of this epic man, check out Rimbaud: A Biography by Graham Robb.

Today, we dare you to abandon all inhibitions and love deeply, dangerously and without doubt that you are remarkable! We like to think that is how Rimbaud is celebrating this day and every day in his eternal resting place.

Write on in peace, Monsieur Rimbaud!

Happy Deathday Monsieur Baudelaire!

French Poet Charles Baudelaire died of a stroke on this day in 1867. He is buried in Paris, France.

If you’ve not read Baudelaire’s work and you like cynical, deeply moving, dramatic, dark and sensually lyrical poetry with a dash of melancholy thrown in for good measure; then Baudelaire is for you! He was one of the innovators of French literature and is widely considered one of the pioneers of using symbolism and sound to create an atmosphere in his somewhat formally structured poetry.

Baudelaire was also a translator of Edgar Allan Poe and greatly admired his work. Much of his own work is infused with eerie themes and gothic language and it is obvious he was very influenced by the writings of Poe. Baudelaire’s work has been a topic of debate and discourse many a time as his poems encompass taboo themes such as satanism, the role of women and at times, his liberal support of the bohemian lifestyle of his time which included using opium and frequenting brothels. 

Our all time favorite work by Baudelaire is undoubtedly Les Fleurs du Mal, or The Flowers of Evil. The poems within this collection are both morbid and sexual. Baudelaire shocked many people with this work but we think it is his very best.  If you want a great reference site for Les Fleurs du Mal and Baudelaire’s life while he was writing it, check out this link!   We highly recommend it.

In 1864, he left Paris for Belgium. He began to drink excessively and it is thought he may have contracted syphilis and gonorrhea by this time. After he died, many of his poems were in fact, published posthumously and his mother is said to have remarked “I see that my son, for all his faults, has his place in literature”. Well said, Mama Baudelaire, he does indeed.

We encourage our readers and writers alike to examine the two themes Baudelaire held highest above all others… sex and death. What do they mean to you? How do they influence your own work? Just be sure you…*cough* use protection… and examine said themes with caution and responsibility.

Write on in peace, Monsieur Baudelaire!

Happy Belated Deathday Mr. Hugo!

We were absent yesterday due to our “google machine”, as we call it, being curiously sluggish. We would like to extend apologies to Mr. Victor Hugo for missing his official deathday, which was yesterday.

Victor Hugo died of advanced infection on May 22nd in 1885. The brilliant poet, author, artist, activist and playwright was 83 years old.

During his lifetime Hugo published a great many works; most notably Les Miserbales, Notre-Dame de Paris (The Hunchback of Notre Dame), La Legende des Siecles, and his numerous volumes of poetry. 

Victor Hugo captured the spirit of the Romantic Era unlike any other writer of his time. Though his first works in poetry and in fiction were devoted to the passionate proclamation of his faith, the precocious eloquence and ardor of these early works made him famous before his time. With later works like Notre-Dame de Paris, Hugo’s writing became darker and his characters all the more tragic and naturally, all the more romantic.

We at Dead Writers Club have a favorite poem by this delightful French man. If you’ve not read Et Nox Facta Est, please click the link provided. You will be all more enriched for having read it.

We do not say this of many writers very often but Victor Hugo might just be one of those writers who truly perfected the craft. We would like to tip our hats to Mr. Hugo today and hope you will too.

Write on in peace, Victor Hugo!

Happy Deathday Monsieur Flaubert!

On May 8th of 1880, one of France’s great realist novelists died of a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 58. His name was Gustave Flaubert.

Known best for his novel, Madame Bovary, Flaubert’s writing style has influenced numerous authors such as Kafka, Nabokov and Guy de Maupassant. He was extraordinarily meticulous in his writing habits and it is abundantly evident in his work.

Nabokov once said of Flaubert:

The greatest literary influence upon Kafka was Flaubert’s. Flaubert who loathed pretty-pretty prose would have applauded Kafka’s attitude towards his tool. Kafka liked to draw his terms from the language of law and science, giving them a kind of ironic precision, with no intrusion of the author’s private sentiments; this was exactly Flaubert’s method through which he achieved a singular poetic effect.

We feel there is little else to say as Mr. Nabokov has so eloquently summed it up for us above. We will say that, in addition to Madame Bovary, if you are a fan of Flaubert or even just a bit Flau-curious, you check out the prose-poem La Tentation de Saint Antoine, his autobiographical work Mémoires d’un fou and his unfinished but wonderfully satirical novel Bouvard et Pécuchet.

Today, we hope our fellow writers out there will remember Flaubert by approaching their craft with the utmost care. Tend to your verse today as you would a beautiful garden.

Write on in peace, Monsieur Flaubert!

Happy Deathday Alfred de Musset!

On this day in 1857, French poet, dramatist and novelist Alfred de Musset died in his sleep of heart failure. He is buried in the Père Lachaise Cemetery in France.

Musset is known for his poetry but is perhaps best known for his autobiographical work La Confession d’un enfant du siècle (The Confession of a Child of the Century), which was published in 1836. This work documents, among other things, his tumultuous relationship with famed writer George Sand.

In his life, Musset published several volumes of poetry and plays, as well as a second novel Histoire d’un merle blanc (The White Blackbird), published in 1842.

We strongly encourage our readers to read Musset’s work in the original French, if it is possible for you to do so.

Write on in peace, Monsieur Alfred de Musset!