Illuminations
Illuminations is Arthur Rimbaud's collection of prose poems and a few verse pieces, written in the early 1870s when he was still in his late teens and early twenties. Published in 1886 after Rimbaud had already abandoned literature, the book gathers radiant, jagged texts that move through dreamlike cities, parades, mythic figures, and strange terrain. Rimbaud breaks with the conventions of nineteenth century French verse, treating language as a tool to derange the senses and reach new states of perception. Many of the poems were edited and arranged by his former lover, the poet Paul Verlaine, after Rimbaud's departure for North Africa. The collection became a foundational text for the Symbolists, the Surrealists, and later twentieth century writers from Andre Breton to Patti Smith. Brief, dense, and uncompromising, Illuminations remains one of the most influential books of modern poetry.
What you might want to know about Illuminations
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
A short collection of prose poems by the teenage French symbolist who reshaped modern poetry.
Both work; many readers compare translations by John Ashbery, Louise Varese, and Bertrand Mathieu to the French.
No, it is a short book of prose poems and a few verse pieces, with no continuous plot.
Illuminations was written by Arthur Rimbaud, published in 1949 by Omnidawn Pub..
Illuminations is 119 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Illuminations takes most readers 2 to 3 hours to finish.
Illuminations is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.
