Rating: 
Summary: If you like Rimbaud, you'll want this book on your shelf
Review: I included Wyatt Masson's "Rimbaud Complete" on one of my best books of all time list ("Heavy Hitters, Inspiration, & Enlightenment") not so much because it in-itself is a "classic", but because Rimbaud's poetry is. This particular collection was difficult to give 4 stars to here because it really depends on whether or not you buy into Mason's concept of translation here. Some lines are frustratingly odd or off, but as far as I can tell, not off base, and more often than not, in tune with Rimbaud's French originals. Also, because this is the most complete collection of Rimbaud's works ever collected in English, it's hard to give it anything less than 4 stars. I really like this book because it sheds light on the translation process when you compare it to other translations (other reviewers here suggest Fowlie & Varesse; I have the Penguin ed. translated by Oliver Bernard, and a critical translation by F.C. St. Aubyn), and because it also includes all the odds and ends (schoolwork, rough drafts, incomplete writings & ideas) available that Rimbaud wrote which hadn't been translated into English until now. It really is exciting to see all his early work, as well as drafts of Season in Hell! All his personal letters are collected in volume 2 of Mason's excellent, "I Promise to be Good" (2003). There are lot's of ways to criticize this collection, and as other reviewers have pointed out, I too have found questionable translations by Mason here and there, and some words even completely left out! (a mistake, or purposeful?) In his introduction Mason discusses in detail the varieties of ways to translate Rimbaud, and states that his version "strives to find common, rather than middle, ground between the two poles represented by Fowlie and Schmidt." His focus is on presenting the poems as Rimbaud "might have written them" were he writing in English. So the rhythm and structure is usually there, while occassionally, words and meaning may alter. The French translations are tucked away in the back (so as not to infringe on Mason's pride, I guess), so you can always compare for yourself - which is the best way to learn about poetry anyway. It takes work, but it's worth it because you'll find things in these poems the critics will miss, or refuse to see in their pig-headedness (i.e. "Barbare" is a strange poem which I think ostensibly describes a sheet of music, and also, Mason for some reason doesn't translate the word: "sweats"/les sueurs; also, is "pavillon" a flag, a banner, or simply a pavillion?). "Rimbaud Complete" proves that Rimbaud belongs to no individual biographer or translator, but rather to the seekers, wanders, poets, and workers of the world searching for that "I is an other" sense of themselves, and the world around them, not readily perceived (or accepted) by your average citizen. In the end, what the poems mean to you, the reader, and how you decide to incorporate them into your life will be the most important factor in deciding whether or not to buy into the fruits of Wyatt Mason's own poetic endeavors. I for one, think this is an indispensible addition for any student of Rimbaud's life and works. PS: Rimbaud never abandoned poetry; it abandoned him. He continued on to a different sort of poetry (a poetic life of action) after 1875, becoming "somebody else" altogether...hail Rimbaud!
Rating: 
Summary: asi asi
Review: It's true that this translation includes some writings by Rimbaud never before (so far as I know) available or accessible to a reader strictly limited to english. But, should you spend your hard earned money on it? That's a difficult question. I wish I hadn't. Wyatt Mason's english:
"...The Gospel! The Gospel!
I await God, hungrily.
There I am..." the french (included in the rear of the book):
"...l'Evangile! l'Evangile!
J'attends Dieu avec gourmandise. Je suis de race inferieure de toute eternite.
Me voici sur..." What happened to "Je suis de race inferierue de toute eternite"! I gave this book three stars because it contains writings never before available to the strictly english reader.
Rating: 
Summary: rimbaud rocks!
Review: mason takes liberty with the texts, but i dig it. to really understand rimbaud you need to read him in french, but if you can't, the next best thing is to read fowlie's book and then this one. then read henry miller.
Rating:
Summary: Skip the Introduction
Review: Much of the introduction is about Rimbaud's life and the conflicting stories, as well as translation and why he translated Rimbaud the way he did. My advice is to you is to buy the book and skip Mason's Introduction altogether... and go straight to the actual poems. This book offers the most complete version of Rimbaud that I've found. I own other versions of Illuminations and A Season in Hell. I truly enjoyed reading Rimbaud's earlier poems letters. They show his boldness... his progression into a visionary poet... and his excitement towards writing. Mason's translations of the Illuminations and A Season in Hell are quite solid... and they alone make this book worth purchasing.
Rating:
Summary: Finally: A Great Translation of Rimbaud
Review: Some unnamed reviewer up above claims "There have been no fully satisfactory translations of the brilliant modernist forerunner Rimbaud." Whoever wrote that clearly didn't read Wyatt Mason's new translation of Rimbaud's complete works very carefully, because it's a lot more that satisfactory: it's beautiful. While the Wallace Fowlie translation (the blue one) is dependable, it's nothing more than that. It's good if you read French pretty well and need some help. But if you want to try to experience Rimbaud's poems in English as Poems, Mason's work is the only time I've found myself reading along and finding that he's caught both the meanings of words and the feeling of the poems (my mother is French, so I have read Rimbaud in the original). Mason's introduction is also, far and away, the best brief essay on Rimbaud's life and art imaginable, and it also talks really interestingly about translating poetry, and how he's gone about it. This is also the only edition available in English that contains everything Rimbaud wrote. The others, even if they say they're complete, don't come close. Neither do the other translators. I can't recommend this book enough.
Rating:
Summary: Finally: A Great Translation of Rimbaud
Review: Some unnamed reviewer up above claims "There have been no fully satisfactory translations of the brilliant modernist forerunner Rimbaud." Whoever wrote that clearly didn't read Wyatt Mason's new translation of Rimbaud's complete works very carefully, because it's a lot more that satisfactory: it's beautiful. While the Wallace Fowlie translation (the blue one) is dependable, it's nothing more than that. It's good if you read French pretty well and need some help. But if you want to try to experience Rimbaud's poems in English as Poems, Mason's work is the only time I've found myself reading along and finding that he's caught both the meanings of words and the feeling of the poems (my mother is French, so I have read Rimbaud in the original). Mason's introduction is also, far and away, the best brief essay on Rimbaud's life and art imaginable, and it also talks really interestingly about translating poetry, and how he's gone about it. This is also the only edition available in English that contains everything Rimbaud wrote. The others, even if they say they're complete, don't come close. Neither do the other translators. I can't recommend this book enough.
Rating:
Summary: Not exactly complete, but extensive... poor translations
Review: The inspiration of Kerouac and Morrison, as well as myself, has never been translated so poorly. Of the works of Rimbaud that I own, this would be my least favorite. Wyatt Mason does no justice to the boy poet who's youth bore the greatest poetry in the last several hundred years. An example (third stanza of the Drunken Boat):
"Deafer than a dreaming child, I ran
Into winter's furious rippling tides.
Penisulas wrenched from shore
Have never know scuh hurly-burly."
Hurly-burly!!! While the tranlator could have been bettered by a first year french student, the amount of work collected in the book is greater than any other volume I own. I especially was excited to see a first draft of "A Season in Hell." So if you are looking for a good amount of the french collected in one volume, this books for you, but I wouldn't suggest it if you are looking for a well translated text.
Rating:
Summary: Not exactly complete, but extensive... poor translations
Review: The inspiration of Kerouac and Morrison, as well as myself, has never been translated so poorly. Of the works of Rimbaud that I own, this would be my least favorite. Wyatt Mason does no justice to the boy poet who's youth bore the greatest poetry in the last several hundred years. An example (third stanza of the Drunken Boat):
"Deafer than a dreaming child, I ran
Into winter's furious rippling tides.
Penisulas wrenched from shore
Have never know scuh hurly-burly."
Hurly-burly!!! While the tranlator could have been bettered by a first year french student, the amount of work collected in the book is greater than any other volume I own. I especially was excited to see a first draft of "A Season in Hell." So if you are looking for a good amount of the french collected in one volume, this books for you, but I wouldn't suggest it if you are looking for a well translated text.
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