The Flowers of Evil: (Les Fleurs du mal)

The Flowers of Evil: (Les Fleurs du mal)

The Flowers of Evil: (Les Fleurs du mal)

The Flowers of Evil: (Les Fleurs du mal)

Hardcover

$24.95  $27.95 Save 11% Current price is $24.95, Original price is $27.95. You Save 11%.
  • SHIP THIS ITEM
    Qualifies for Free Shipping
  • PICK UP IN STORE
    Check Availability at Nearby Stores

Related collections and offers


Overview

On the 200th anniversary of Baudelaire’s birth comes this stunning landmark translation of the book that launched modern poetry.

Known to his contemporaries primarily as an art critic, but ambitious to secure a more lasting literary legacy, Charles Baudelaire, a Parisian bohemian, spent much of the 1840s composing gritty, often perverse, poems that expressed his disgust with the banality of modern city life.

First published in 1857, the book that collected these poems together, Les Fleurs du mal, was an instant sensation—earning Baudelaire plaudits and, simultaneously, disrepute. Only a year after Gustave Flaubert had endured his own public trial for published indecency (for Madame Bovary), a French court declared Les Fleurs du mal an offense against public morals and six poems within it were immediately suppressed (a ruling that would not be reversed until 1949, nearly a century after Baudelaire’s untimely death). Subsequent editions expanded on the original, including new poems that have since been recognized as Baudelaire’s masterpieces, producing a body of work that stands as the most consequential, controversial, and influential book of poetry from the nineteenth century.

Acclaimed translator and poet Aaron Poochigian tackles this revolutionary text with an ear attuned to Baudelaire’s lyrical innovations—rendering them in “an assertive blend of full and slant rhymes and fluent iambs” (A. E. Stallings)—and an intuitive feel for the work’s dark and brooding mood. Poochigian’s version captures the incantatory, almost magical, effect of the original—reanimating for today’s reader Baudelaire’s “unfailing vision” that “trumpeted the space and light of the future” (Patti Smith).

An introduction by Dana Gioia offers a probing reassessment of the supreme artistry of Baudelaire’s masterpiece, and an afterword by Daniel Handler explores its continued relevance and appeal. Featuring the poems in English and French, this deluxe dual-language edition allows readers to commune both with the original poems and with these electric, revelatory translations.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781631498596
Publisher: Liveright Publishing Corporation
Publication date: 12/07/2021
Pages: 400
Sales rank: 399,944
Product dimensions: 9.00(w) x 6.10(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Charles Baudelaire (1821–1867) was a French poet, critic, essayist, and translator. He is buried in the Cimetière du Montparnasse in Paris.

Aaron Poochigian has published four books of poetry and several translations, including Aristophanes: Four Plays (2021). He lives in New York City.

Dana Gioia is the former poet laureate of California.

Daniel Handler is best known for his books as Lemony Snicket, notably the thirteen-volume A Series of Unfortunate Events and the four-book sequence All the Wrong Questions. Under his given name, he is the author of seven novels, and has worked extensively in music, theater, film, and television. He lives in San Francisco, California.

Table of Contents

Introduction Dana Gioia xv

A Note on the Translation Aaron Poochigian lv

The Flowers of Evil

To the Reader 5

Spleen and the Ideal

1 Benediction 9

2 The Albatross 11

3 Elevation 12

4 Correspondences 13

5 ^ I love recalling those antique, nude times… 13

6 The Beacons 15

7 The Sick Muse 16

8 The Muse for Sale 17

9 The Bad Monk 17

10 The Fiend 18

11 Bad Luck 19

12 The Past Life 19

13 Traveling Gypsies 20

14 Man and the Sea 20

15 Don Juan in Hell 21

16 Punishment for Pride 22

17 Beauty 23

18 The Ideal 23

19 The Giantess 24

20 The Mask 24

21 Hymn to Beauty 26

21x The Jewels 27

22 Exotic Perfume 28

23 Her Hair 29

24 I love you as I love nocturnal skies… 30

25 Adulterated woman, you would screw the whole… 30

26 Sed non satiata 31

27 When she, a billow of bejeweled clothing… 32

28 A Serpent Dancing 32

29 A Carcass 34

30 De profundis clamavi 35

31 The Vampire 36

31x Lethe 37

32 Once, sleeping with a horrid Jewish crone… 38

33 Postmortem Remorse 38

34 The Cat 39

35 Duellum 40

36 The Balcony 40

37 The Possessed 41

38 A Phantom 42

39 I dedicate this poem to you so that… 44

40 Semper eadem 45

41 All Together 45

42 What will you say tonight… 46

43 The Lit Torch 47

43x To One Who Is Too Cheerful 47

44 Reversibility 49

45 Confession 50

46 The Spiritual Dawn 51

47 The Harmony of Evening 52

48 The Perfume Bottle 52

49 Poison 53

50 Cloudy Sky 54

51 The Cat 55

52 The Beautiful Ship 56

53 The Invitation to the Voyage 58

54 The Irreparable 59

55 A Conversation 61

56 Autumn Song 62

57 To a Madonna 63

58 Song of the Afternoon 64

59 Sisina 66

60 Franciscae meae laudes 67

61 To a Creole Lady 68

62 Moesta et errabunda 69

63 The Revenant 70

64 Autumn Sonnet 70

65 The Sorrows of the Moon 71

66 The Cats 71

67 The Owls 72

68 The Pipe 73

69 Music 73

70 The Burial 74

71 A Fantastical Engraving 74

72 The Happy Corpse 75

73 The Cask of Hate 75

74 The Cracked Bell 76

75 Spleen (I) 77

76 Spleen (II) 77

77 Spleen (III) 78

78 Spleen (IV) 79

79 Obsession 79

80 The Taste for Nothingness 80

81 The Alchemy of Grief 81

82 Reflected Horror 81

83 Heautontimoroumenos 82

84 The Irremediable 83

85 The Clock 85

Parisian Scenes

86 Landscape 89

87 The Sun 89

88 To a Red-Haired Beggar Girl 90

89 The Swan 92

90 The Seven Old Men 94

91 The Little Old Ladies 96

92 The Blind 100

93 To a Woman Passing 100

94 Skeleton Laborers 101

95 Twilight 102

96 Gambling 103

97 Dame Macabre 104

98 The Love of Lying 107

99 I still recall the little whitewashed lodging where… 108

100 Think of my kind old nurse you once were jealous of… 108

101 Mists and Rains 109

102 Parisian Dream 109

103 Morning Twilight 112

Wine

104 The Soul of Wine 115

105 The Ragpickers' Wine 116

106 The Murderer's Wine 117

107 The Loner's Wine 119

108 The Lovers' Wine 119

Flowers of Evil

109 Destruction 123

110 A Martyr 123

110x Lesbos 126

110xx The Damned Women: Delphine and Hippolyta 128

111 The Damned Women 132

112 The Two Good Sisters 133

113 The Fountain of Blood 134

114 Allegory 134

115 The Beatrice 135

115x The Metamorphoses of the Vampire 136

116 A Voyage to Cythera 137

117 Love and the Skull 139

Revolt

118 Saint Peter's Denial 143

119 Abel and Cain 144

120 The Litanies of Satan 145

Death

121 The Lovers' Death 151

122 The Death of the Poor 151

123 The Death of Artists 152

124 The End of the Day 152

125 The Dream of an Odd Man 153

126 Voyaging 154

Les Fleurs du mal

Au lecteur 165

Spleen Et Idéal

1 Bénédiction 169

2 L'Albatros 171

3 Élévation 172

4 Correspondances 173

5 J'aime le souvenir de ces époques nues … 173

6 Les Phares 175

7 La Muse malade 176

8 La Muse vénale 177

9 Le Mauvais Moine 177

10 L'Ennemi 178

11 Le Guignon 179

12 La Vie antérieure 179

13 Bohémiens en voyage 180

14 L'Homme et la Mer 180

15 Don Juan aux enfers 181

16 Châtiment de l'orgueil 182

17 La Beauté 183

18 L'Idéal 183

19 La Géante 184

20 Le Masque 184

21 Hymne à la beauté 186

21x Les Bijoux 187

22 Parfum exotique 188

23 La Chevelure 189

24 Je t'adore à l'égal… 190

25 Tu mettrais l'univers entier dans ta ruelle… 190

26 Sed non satiata 191

27 Avec ses vêtements ondoyants et nacrés… 192

28 Le Serpent qui danse 192

29 Une Charogne 194

30 De profundis clamavi 195

31 Le Vampire 196

31x Le Léthé 197

32 Une nuit que j'étais près d'une affreuse Juive… 198

33 Remords posthume 198

34 Le Chat 199

35 Duellum 200

36 Le Balcon 200

37 Le Possédé 201

38 Un Fantôme 202

39 Je te donne ces vers afin que si mon nom… 204

40 Semper eadem 205

41 Tout entière 205

42 Que diras-tu ce soir… 206

43 Le Flambeau vivant 207

43x À celle qui est trop gaie 207

44 Réversibilité 209

45 Confession 210

46 L'Aube spirituelle 211

47 Harmonie du soir 212

48 Le Flacon 212

49 Le Poison 214

50 Ciel brouillé 214

51 Le Chat 215

52 Le Beau Navire 217

53 L'Invitation au voyage 218

54 L'Irréparable 220

55 Causerie 221

56 Chant d'automne 222

57 À une madone 223

58 Chanson d'après-midi 225

59 Sisina 226

60 Franciscae meae laudes 227

61 À une dame créole 228

62 Moesta et errabunda 229

63 Le Revenant 230

64 Sonnet d'automne 230

65 Tristesses de la lune 231

66 Les Chats 232

67 Les Hiboux 232

68 La Pipe 233

69 La Musique 233

70 Sépulture 234

71 Une Gravure fantastique 235

72 Le Mort joyeux 235

73 LeTonneau de la haine 236

74 La Cloche fêlée 236

75 Spleen (I) 237

76 Spleen (II) 238

77 Spleen (III) 238

78 Spleen (IV) 239

79 Obsession 240

80 Le Goût du néant 241

81 Alchimie de la douleur 241

82 Horreur sympathique 242

83 L'Héautontimorouménos 243

84 L'Irrémédiable 244

85 L'Horloge 245

Tableaux Parisiens

86 Paysage 249

87 Le Soleil 250

88 À une mendiante rousse 250

89 Le Cygne 253

90 Les Sept Vieillards 255

91 Les Petites Vieilles 257

92 Les Aveugles 260

93 À une passante 260

94 Le Squelette laboureur 261

95 Le Crépuscule du soir 262

96 Le Jeu 264

97 Danse macabre 265

98 L'Amour du mensonge 267

99 Je n'ai pas oublié, voisine de la ville… 268

100 La servante au grand cceur dont vous étiez jalousie… 268

101 Brumes et Pluies 269

102 Rêve parisien 270

103 Le Crépuscule du matin 272

Le Vin

104 L'Âme du vin 277

105 Le Vin des chiffonniers 278

106 Le Vin de l'assassin 279

107 Le Vin du solitaire 281

108 Le Vin des amants 281

Fleurs Du Mal

109 La Destruction 285

110 Une Martyre 285

110x Lesbos 287

110xx Femmes damnées (Delphine et Hippolyte) 290

111 Femmes damnées 294

112 Les Deux Bonnes Sæurs 295

113 La Fontaine de sang 296

114 Allégoric 296

115 La Béatrice 297

115x Les Métamorphoses du vampire 298

116 Un Voyage à Cythère 299

117 L'Amour et le Crâne 301

Révolte

118 Le Reniement de saint Pierre 305

119 Abel et Caïn 306

120 Les Litanies de Satan 307

La Mort

121 La Mort des amants 313

122 La Mort des pauvres 313

123 La Mort des artistes 314

124 La Fin de la journée 314

125 Le Rêve d'un curieux 315

126 Le Voyage 316

Afterword Daniel Handler 323

Notes 329

Index 339

From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews