“The hallucinatory prose-poems of Arthur Rimbaud rank among the glories of 19th-century French literature.” —  New York Times One of the world's most influential poets, Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891) is remembered as much for his volatile personality and tumultuous life as he is for his writings, almost all of which he produced before the age of twenty. Paul Schmidt's acclaimed collection brings together his complete poetry, prose, and letters, including "The Drunken Boat," "The Orphans' New Year," "After the Flood," and "A Season in Hell."  Complete Works  is divided into eight "seasons"—Childhood, the Open Road, War, the Tormented Heart, the Visionary, the Damned Soul, a Few Belated Cowardices, and the Man with the Wind at His Heels—that reflect the facets of Rimbaud's life. Insightful commentary by Schmidt reveals the courage, vision, and imagination of Rimbaud's poetry and sheds light on one of the most enigmatic figures in letters. “A mystic in the wild state.” - Paul Claudel “This collection is interesting for the light it casts on the background to the writing of ‘A Season in Hell’ and the poems later referred to (by Paul Verlaine) as ‘The Illuminations’. As well as the poems themselves, Schmidt includes transcriptions of letters (to Verlaine and others) and biographical details from the life of this most nihilistic genius.” - The Guardian “The best edition in English” - Montreal Gazette “The hallucinatory prose-poems of Arthur Rimbaud rank among the glories of 19th-century French literature.” - New York Times “Visionary . . . Wicked . . . A Genius.” - The New Yorker “Rimbaud was pure dynamite . . . he restored literature to life.” - Henry Miller One of the world's most influential poets, Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891) is remembered as much for his volatile personality and tumultuous life as he is for his writings, almost all of which he produced before the age of twenty. Paul Schmidt's acclaimed collection brings together his complete poetry, prose, and letters, including "The Drunken Boat," "The Orphans' New Year," "After the Flood," and "A Season in Hell." Complete Works is divided into eight "seasons"—Childhood, the Open Road, War, the Tormented Heart, the Visionary, the Damned Soul, a Few Belated Cowardices, and the Man with the Wind at His Heels—that reflect the facets of Rimbaud's life. Insightful commentary by Schmidt reveals the courage, vision, and imagination of Rimbaud's poetry and sheds light on one of the most enigmatic figures in letters. Arthur Rimbaud: Complete Works By Arthur Rimbaud HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. Copyright © 2008 Arthur Rimbaud All right reserved. ISBN: 9780061561771 The Orphans' New Year I The room is full of shadows; vaguely heard, The soft, sad whispers of two tiny babes. Their faces, heavy still with sleep, peck out Through long white curtains that shake and swirl ... -Outside, the shivering birds hop near; Their wings are numb beneath the dark gray sky; And New Year's Day, with all her foggy troop, Dragging along the folds of her snowy gown, Smiles through tears, and, shivering, sings her song. II And the little children behind the flapping curtainSpeak soft and low as in the dark of night.They listen, sunk in thought, to a distant hum ...They tremble often at the golden voiceOf the morning bell, which strikes and strikes againIts metal chime within a globe of glass ...And oh, the room is cold ... in heaps about the floorAround the bed, we see black mourning clothes:The bitter wind that howls before the doorSighs round about the house with gloomy breath!We feel, in all of this, a certain lack-Do these small children have no mother, then,No smiling mother, with triumphant eyes?She must that night have forgotten, bending alone,To blow the naked coals again to flame,To tuck the blanket and the quilt around themBefore she left them, saying "pardon me."Could she not have foreseen the morning's cold,Nor closed the door against the wintry blast? ... A dream of mother is a cozy comforter,A cotton-covered nest where snuggling children lie,As pretty drowsing birds in swaying branchesSleep their sweet sleep, their soft white dreams!But here-this is some cheerless, featherless nestWhere the young are cold, afraid, and cannot sleep;A nest quite frozen by the bitter wind ... III Your heart tells you the truth-they have no mother. No mother in the house! And a father far away! An old housekeeper, then, took them in charge. The children are alone in the icy house: Orphans at four, now in their hearts and minds A happy memory by degrees revives, As bead by bead, we tell a rosary: Ah! What a wondrous morning, New Year's Day! Each one, that night, had dreamed a dream of gifts, The strangest dream, where he saw heaps of toys That whirled about, dancing a noisy dance, Then hid behind the curtain, then appeared once more! And in the morning they would hop from bed With a foretaste of sugarplums, rubbing their eyes ... They would go, hair tousled on their