Jack Hirschman
Mark Spitzer makes us feel the poet afresh, through a gutsy freshness of his own. Essential reading.

Andrei Codrescu
Mark Spitzer's translations from French... [are] superb, evincing both a superior ear and a great deal of erudition.

Book Description
Even the most accurate and faithful translators of Rimbaud (Louis Varese, Wallace Fowlie, and Oliver Bernard) have misunderstood the poetry, and consequently, have left less-than-accurate impressions of his work. Mark Spitzer asserts "No translation should ever be trusted, especially when the text is so complex that even the experts in the original language are stumped by multiple meanings, secret syntax and elusive argot. Such is the case with Rimbaud." With From Absinthe to Abyssinia, Spitzer strives to retain the meaning of the original text, honoring the imagination of the poet. He offers a balance in what we know about Rimbaud, in relationship to what we pretend to know.

Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

About the Author
MARK SPITZER has degrees in creative writing from the University of Minnesota, the University of Colorado, and Louisiana State University. He is the translator of The Collected Poems of Georges Bataille (Dufour Editions, 1998), and the co-translator of The Church, by Louis-Ferdinand Celine (Green Integer, 2002). He has also translated Jean Genet, Blaise Cendrars, and other works by Celine and Bataille. His novels include Bottom Feeder (Creative Arts, 1999) and Chum (Zoland Books, 2001). He currently lives in Baton Rouge, where he is the Assistant Editor of Exquisite Corpse.

SYNOPSIS

Even the most accurate and faithful translators of Rimbaud (Louis Varese, Wallace Fowlie, and Oliver Bernard) have misunderstood the poetry, and consequently, have left less-than-accurate impressions of his work. Mark Spitzer asserts "No translation should ever be trusted, especially when the text is so complex that even the experts in the original language are stumped by multiple meanings, secret syntax and elusive argot. Such is the case with Rimbaud."

With From Absinthe to Abyssinia, Spitzer strives to retain the meaning of the original text, honoring the imagination of the poet. He offers a balance in what we know about Rimbaud, in relationship to what we pretend to know.

About the Author

Mark Spitzer has degrees in creative writing from the University of Minnesota, the University of Colorado, and Louisiana State University. He is the translator of The Collected Poems of Georges Bataille (Dufour Editions, 1998), and the co-translator of The Church, by Louis-Ferdinand Celine (Green Integer, 2002). He has also translated Jean Genet, Blaise Cendrars, and other works by Celine and Bataille. His novels include Bottom Feeder (Creative Arts, 1999) and Chum (Zoland Books, 2001).

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

Great Leaps of Language! These are not simply translations of Rimbaud, they're resurrections of the poet's provocatively brilliant spirit, as it might, as it must, live among us now. Mark Spitzer makes us feel the poet afresh, through a gutsy freshness of his own. Essential reading. — Jack Hirschman