From Publishers Weekly
In the foreword to his new biography of poet-adventurer Rimbaud, Steinmetz, who edited the 1989 Editions Flammarion Complete Works of Rimbaud, asserts that, as a narrator, he will allow Rimbaud's actions to give birth to their own significance, rather than overburden them with qualification. In practice, Steinmetz has as much difficulty refraining from laudatory remarks as a sportscaster. At a certain point in the development of his poetic style, Rimbaud quits the use of references to the Parisian Commune, which had saturated much of his previous work; according to Steinmetz, he is suddenly "on the same wavelength as eternity." The poet's constant irritation with his family is always considered just; his lack of sympathy for his lover, Paul Verlaine, is seen as the rightful rejection of a pathetic companion. Steinmetz allows as little interpretive leeway as conceivable in recounting a life that seethes with contradiction, spontaneity and violent longing. To his credit, Steinmetz is able to communicate the alternating spasms of self-love and self-loathing that seem to have animated Rimbaud's existence and driven him to devour, then abandon, creative media from poetry, to carnal desire, to compulsive travel. Yet, for all Steinmetz's enthusiasm, the real Rimbaud remains, as the biographer himself repeatedly asserts, "someone who cannot be found." These pages constitute a vivid retelling of the Rimbaud legend; but Rimbaud the human being, almost completely obscured by that legend, continues to evade definition. (Mar.)Forecast: Graham Robb's "robust" but equally mythologizing Rimbaud came out last October. Steinmetz, however, does a better job of communicating the sense of an erratic but exciting mind at work. This should appeal to readers of poetry and French literature.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Los Angeles Times
“May be the most comprehensive and readable biography of this problematic poet ... A work of affectionate devotion and unflinching honesty.”

Times Literary Supplement
“Jean-Luc Steinmetz’s Arthur Rimbaud: Presence of an Enigma is an outstanding piece of work."

Book Description
WINNER OF THE GRAND PRIX DE L’ACADEMIE FRANÇAISE A SELECTION OF THE KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR A SELECTION OF THE LOS ANGELES TIMES BEST NONFICTION OF 2000 The life of Arthur Rimbaud, the “considerable passerby” (Mallarmé), a man who gave up literature at the age of 25, remains as legendary as his poetic work. From the enigmatic poet’s very first writings, his stormy relationship with the poet Paul Verlaine, and his bohemian existence in Paris and London, to his trip to Java and his life as a wandering trader in Arabia and Harar, Jean-Luc Steinmetz delivers here the first biography which, rather than dividing Rimbaud’s life in two halves (as did all his previous biographers), brings out the spiritual and logical continuity underlying his 36-year long “pursuit of desire.” With perfect mastery of both Rimbaud’s work, which he has edited, and of the scattered source material, Steinmetz makes sense of a hurried, tempestuous life and offers what should be the standard life of Rimbaud for many years to come.

About the Author
JEAN-LUC STEINMETZ is recognized as a leading expert on Rimbaud’s life and works. He edited the 1989 Editions Flammarion edition of the Complete Works of Rimbaud. Librairie Arthème Fayard published in 1998 his biography of Stéphane Mallarmé, the first comprehensive biography of the poet in French in almost fifty years.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

From the enigmatic poet's very first writings, his stormy relationship with poet Paul Verlaine, and his bohemian existence in Paris and London, to his trip to Java and his life as a wandering trader in Arabia and Harar, Jean-Luc Steinmetz delivers here the first biography which, rather than dividing Rimbaud's life in two halves -- as did all his previous biographers -- brings out the spiritual and logical continuity underlying his 36-year long "pursuit of desire."

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

In the foreword to his new biography of poet-adventurer Rimbaud, Steinmetz, who edited the 1989 Editions Flammarion Complete Works of Rimbaud, asserts that, as a narrator, he will allow Rimbaud's actions to give birth to their own significance, rather than overburden them with qualification. In practice, Steinmetz has as much difficulty refraining from laudatory remarks as a sportscaster. At a certain point in the development of his poetic style, Rimbaud quits the use of references to the Parisian Commune, which had saturated much of his previous work; according to Steinmetz, he is suddenly "on the same wavelength as eternity." The poet's constant irritation with his family is always considered just; his lack of sympathy for his lover, Paul Verlaine, is seen as the rightful rejection of a pathetic companion. Steinmetz allows as little interpretive leeway as conceivable in recounting a life that seethes with contradiction, spontaneity and violent longing. To his credit, Steinmetz is able to communicate the alternating spasms of self-love and self-loathing that seem to have animated Rimbaud's existence and driven him to devour, then abandon, creative media from poetry, to carnal desire, to compulsive travel. Yet, for all Steinmetz's enthusiasm, the real Rimbaud remains, as the biographer himself repeatedly asserts, "someone who cannot be found." These pages constitute a vivid retelling of the Rimbaud legend; but Rimbaud the human being, almost completely obscured by that legend, continues to evade definition. (Mar.) Forecast: Graham Robb's "robust" but equally mythologizing Rimbaud came out last October. Steinmetz, however, does a better job of communicating the sense of an erratic but exciting mind at work. This should appeal to readers of poetry and French literature. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Another new study of Rimbaud's life is given by Steinmetz, a leading French scholar on Rimbaud who edited his Complete Works. Originally published in France, this book won the Grand Prix de L'Academie Fran aise in 1991. Steinmetz is critical of earlier biographies that have tended to split Rimbaud's life into two parts, his life as a writer and his life after he quit writing. He also rejects the tendency of biographers to compare the events of Rimbaud's life with his poetry. He seeks to avoid a detective-like report of Rimbaud's life and vies for a spectral approach instead. Unfortunately, the irritating use of the present tense (e.g., "So Rimbaud seeks passage in Semarang on a boat setting sail for Europe" or "Rimbaud hails a coach to take him to Aden") wears thin. Nonetheless, although it is less well structured than Robb's work (especially when tracking chronology), Steinmetz does present a meticulous study that digs deep into Rimbaud's life and work. Both books are recommended for literary collections and the Steinmetz book for academic collections especially. [Robb's biography was previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 6/15/00.]--Ron Ratliff, Kansas State Univ. Libs., Manhattan Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

A refreshing biography of French poet Rimbaud that captures its audacious subject with the immediacy of a photo album. Rimbaud, whom Steinmetz (Complete Works of Rimbaud, not reviewed) identifies as a"gangster-seer-homosexual-initiate-explorer," believed that the poet must become a seer (voyant) who can peer through the limitations of the finite world in order to articulate the eternal. Coupled with this lofty vision of the artistic endeavor, however, was a man who wallowed in his arrogance and obscenity. Steinmetz captures these conflicting sides of Rimbaud, from the doldrums of his youth in Charleville to the fiery passions of his homosexual relationship with fellow poet Paul Verlaine (who shot Rimbaud after a violent quarrel) to his years as an international businessman. Although the furors of his personal life alone provide more than sufficient fodder for a fascinating biography, Rimbaud also wrote some of the most exciting verse of the 19th century, including"Le Bateau ivre" ("The Drunken Boat") and"Une Saison en enfer" ("A Season in Hell"). Faulting fellow biographers for their incomplete visions of Rimbaud, Steinmetz imbues his portrait of the man with a fetching spontaneity by depicting the poet in"the quick of the event"; he primarily narrates Rimbaud's life in the present tense and through the passion of his authorial voice succeeds in bringing his subject into remarkably clear focus. As the biographer's enthusiasm for his subject provides much of the joy of this work, it unfortunately allows a bit too much of jarring side commentary to worm its way into the telling of Rimbaud's life. That aside, theintensemelodrama of Rimbaud's life makes any biography as voyeuristically satisfying as a soap opera—but Steinmetz's intensely lyrical vision of the man elevates what could have been a tabloid headline into an operatic achievement. (16 pp. b&w photos)