Arthur Rimbaud

:"Rimbaud" redirects here. For other uses see Rimbaud (disambiguation)

Later life (1875-1891)

Rimbaud and Verlaine met for the last time in 1875 in Germany, after Verlaine's release from prison and his make-believe "reforming" to Catholicism. By then Rimbaud had given up writing and decided on a steady, working life, fed up with his former wild living (some say), or having decided to become rich and independent to afford living one day as a carefree poet and man of letters (some speculate). He continued to travel extensively in Europe mostly on foot. In the summer of 1876 he enlisted as a soldier in the Dutch Army to travel free of charge to Java (Indonesia) where he promptly deserted, returning to France by ship. He traveled to Cyprus and in 1880 finally settled in Aden as a main employee in the Bardey agency. He had several native women as lovers and for a while he lived with an Abyssinian mistress. In 1884 he quit the job at Bardey's and became a merchant on his own in Harar, Abyssinia (modern Ethiopia). He made a small fortune as a gun-runner. Rimbaud developed right knee synovitis which degenerated into a carcinoma, and his state forced him to return to France on May 9, 1891, where his leg was amputated on May 27. Rimbaud died in Marseille on November 10, 1891, aged 37.

Related Topics:
Europe - Aden - Harar - Ethiopia - Synovitis - Carcinoma - 1891 - Marseille

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~