About this title: "The poet makes himself into a visionary by a long derangement of all the senses."--Rimbaud
In 1968 Jim Morrison, founder and lead singer of the rock band the Doors, wrote to Wallace Fowlie, a scholar of French literature and a professor at Duke University. Morrison thanked Fowlie for producing an English translation of the complete poems of Rimbaud. He needed the translation, he said, because, "I don't read French that easily. . . . I am a rock singer and your book travels around with me." Fourteen years later, when Fowlie first heard the music of the Doors, he recognized the influence of ...
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Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Duke University Press
Date Published: 1994-05
ISBN-13:9780822314455ISBN:0822314452
Description: Like New. Like New. Book is in excellent condition, had only one previous owner. Free tracking # included! International buyers are welcome. We ship every business day. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed! read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Duke University Press
Date Published: 1994-05
ISBN-13:9780822314455ISBN:0822314452
Description: Good. Binding is tight and square. No names or remainder marks. Text is clean and bright. Cover has a bend. Careful packaging and fast shipping. We recommend PRIORITY mail for even faster delivery! read more
Edition: Paperback Reprint
Binding: Illustrated Coated Cardstock
Publisher: Duke University Press, Durham, NC
Date Published: 1994
ISBN-13:9780822314455ISBN:0822314452
Description: Near Fine. No Jacket. Trade Paperback. 8" Tall. This is the fifth "memoir" by the translator, critic, and Francophile. Predecessor volumes were Memory, Sites, Aubade, and Journal of Rehersals. The book is a study of rebels as poets and poets as rebels. Jim Morrison was the leader of the "Doors, " and died young at 27 in 1971; Rimbaud, a precursor of the Surrealists, ceased writing verse at 19, and died at 37. The pairing prompts thought, but "Light My Fire" or "Strange Days" can hardly be ... read more
Description: Fine. 0822314452 Duke Univ Press trade paperback, 1994, unused, No marks/tears or defects...Fine/Fine (like new)...Bubble-wrapped and ed in a Box w/ confirmation. read more
Description: Good. Light shelving wear with minimal damage to cover and bindings. Pages show minor use. Help save a tree. Buy all your used books from Green Earth Books. Read. Recycle and Reuse! read more
Description: Good. 0822314452 Softcover, minor shelfwear, Ex-library book with typical markings, All orders are shipped with shipping and delivery confirmation! read more
Description: Very good; Collectible. No writings/underlines/highlights. Inside pages are clean. Water mark on edge. Free track! Satisfaction guarenteed! Fast ing! read more
Description: Fine; Collectible. Excellent condition. Appears unread. No writings/underlines/highlights except gift comments on front page. Pages are very nice and clean. Free track. Satisfaction guaranteed! Fast! read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Duke University Press
Date Published: 1994
ISBN-13:9780822314455ISBN:0822314452
Description: New. Brand new books, maps and cd's available immediately from a reputable and well rated UK bookseller; despatched promptly and reliably worldwide. read more
Wallace Fowlie was a professor of French Literature at Duke University when he received a letter from Jim Morrison thanking him for writing a translation of French Symbolist Poet Arthur Rimbaud's poems. Fowlie, not knowing who Jim Morrison was filed the letter away with other correspondence. In 1980 a student of Fowlie's gave him a copy of the Morrison biography, No One Here Gets Out Alive, he made the connection with the letter he received 12 years before. He read the bio, and noticed all the references in it to Rimbaud and like many aging teachers trying to connect to students who might otherwise find the subject of French poetry dry or irrelevant, he started lecturing about Jim Morrison and his Rimbaud connection, and after a decade of expanding the lecture he committed it to a book, Rimbaud and Jim Morrison: The Rebel as Poet.
As a professor of French Literature it is to be expected that Fowlie would be more knowledgeable about the life and work of Rimbaud, and indeed he is, he writes an informed and interesting biography of Rimbaud, tracing his birth and upbringing in rural France whose military father was frequently away, and whose adventures Rimbaud fantasized about. And a domineering mother whom Rimbaud sought to escape. Rimbaud's early success' in academics and interest in wanting to be a poet aided in his running away to Paris and London in pursuit of his dreams, and Fowlie offers an in depth analysis of the poetry Rimbaud created between the ages of 16-19.
The shortcomings of this book become evident when Fowlie focuses on Morrison, his life, and his poetry. Fowlie gets facts of Morrison's life wrong, and doesn't offer much into any insight or meaningful analysis of Morrison's poetry. Reading the sections on Morrison's poetry you feel shortchanged at the ephemeral nature of the analysis. You almost can't blame Fowlie for this, he was already in his 60's when Morrison wrote to him, he was in his 70's when he started the lectures that would become the book, so you can hardly blame Fowlie for not being that interested or knowledgeable about Morrison. Fowlie readily admits that during his lectures students frequently added to his knowledge about Morrison. And, of course, the genesis of the lecture was to get his students interested in Rimbaud's work via Morrison, but when you write a book with dual subjects you have a duty to give equal consideration to both subjects.
This book is for The Doors fan who knows The Doors and Jim Morrison's story well, and is intrigued by Rimbaud and his poetry and would like to dive into the deeper waters of what Morrison called "pure poetry," but would still like The Doors/Morrison connection available."
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