Knowntohiscontemporariesprimarilyasanartcritic,butambitioustosecureamorelastingliterarylegacy,CharlesBaudelaire,aParisianbohemian,spentmuchofthe1840scomposinggritty,oftenperverse,poemsthatexpressedhisdisgustwiththebanalityofmoderncitylife.Firstpublishedin1857,thebookthatcollectedthesepoemstogether,LesFleursdumal,wasaninstantsensation--earningBaudelaireplauditsand,simultaneously,disrepute.OnlyayearafterGustaveFlauberthadenduredhisownpublictrialforpublishedindecency(forMadameBovary),aFrenchcourtdeclaredLesFleursdumalanoffenseagainstpublicmoralsandsixpoemswithinitwereimmediatelysuppressed(arulingthatwouldnotbereverseduntil1949,nearlyacenturyafterBaudelaire’suntimelydeath).Subsequenteditionsexpandedontheoriginal,includingnewpoemsthathavesincebeenrecognizedasBaudelaire’smasterpieces,producingabodyofworkthatstandsasthemostconsequential,controversial,andinfluentialbookofpoetryfromthenineteenthcentury.AcclaimedtranslatorandpoetAaronPoochigiantacklesthisrevolutionarytextwithanearattunedtoBaudelaire’slyricalinnovations--renderingthemin“anassertiveblendoffullandslantrhymesandfluentiambs“(A.E.Stallings)--andanintuitivefeelforthework’sdarkandbroodingmood.Poochigian’sversioncapturestheincantatory,almostmagical,effectoftheoriginal--reanimatingfortoday’sreaderBaudelaire’s“unfailingvision“that“trumpetedthespaceandlightofthefuture“(PattiSmith).AnintroductionbyDanaGioiaoffersaprobingreassessmentofthesupremeartistryofBaudelaire’smasterpiece,andanafterwordbyDanielHandlerexploresitscontinuedrelevanceandappeal.FeaturingthepoemsinEnglishandFrench,thisdeluxedual-languageeditionallowsreaderstocommunebothwiththeoriginalpoemsandwiththeseelectric,revelatorytranslations.
