Arthur Rimbaud

Biography

Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (20 October 1854 – 10 November 1891) was a French poet and anarchist, born in Charleville. As part of the decadent movement, his influence on modern literature, music and art has been enduring and pervasive. He produced his best known works while still in his late teens - Victor Hugo described him at the time as "an infant Shakespeare" - and gave up creative writing altogether before he reached 21. He remained a prolific letter-writer all his life. Rimbaud was a restless soul, travelling extensively on three continents before his premature death from cancer less than a month after his 37th birthday.

Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.