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Rating: 
Summary: A true genius
Review: For all who love Rimbaud's work this is the book for them. The included letters give the reader a glimpse into the boy genius that was Rimbaud. He certainly was a difficult person but there is no denying his brilliance as a poet.
Rating:
Summary: Yes, but...
Review: I ... found Fowlie's over-literal translations ugly and lame. But I think this may be deliberate. The unbeautifulness of the translations forces you back to the exquisite French original. It's a joy to have these poems as Rimbaud wrote them, and a bilingual edition is a must for the non-French-reader. If you want a beautiful English translation, I recommend reading Paul Schmidt's in conjunction with this one.
Rating:
Summary: Discover Rimbaud
Review: I just wanted to review this to make a note about the translation, as there is a lot of argument about which is the best, etc. A lot of people who discover Rimbaud in their late teens or early twenties tend to come to his work via the beat generation or rock-poets like Jim Morrison. This translation by Wallace Fowlie was the book that inspired Jim Morrison. He considered it a treasured possession and even wrote a letter to Fowlie to thank him for his work. So if you want to see what blew Jim away so much, this is the translation for you. I also like the Louise Varese translations. Both Varese and Fowlie include the original french version in their books too. So, ignore most of the negative reviews. If you're new to Rimbaud this book by Fowlie and one of Varese's translation would make a great place to start.
Rating:
Summary: Read Rimbaud in French and English
Review: I really don't understand any of the negative reviews on this page. Fowlie's translations are considered some of the best, even by scholars, and yes, this is the version that has inspired many other artists, actors, musicians, poets, and so forth. Fowlie's introduction is fitting and his inclusion of selected letters gives us an insightful look into the very language of Rimbaud.This is why I wanted to learn French. This keeps me learning French, and Rimbauds poems are absolutely stunning. If you want a good introduction to Rimbaud, select this volume of translations and then read Enid Starkie's wonderful biography of Rimbaud. Keep in mind this simple philosophy: the search for truth, history, and art is sometimes elusive and beyond our grasp. Rimbaud, to a certain extent, is always going to be elusive to the modern reader, and certainly personal and controversial for many reasons. However don't let this elusiveness stop you from buying this wonderful book.
Rating:
Summary: If you have at least a smattering of French -- 10 stars
Review: Original on the left side, *literal* translation on the right. If your French is a bit rusty (like mine), reading the "bare" original text only may prove toilsome. For such a reader, Fowlie's book is a great help -- you still have access to the original verse, but do not have to consult a dictionary every minute. A reviewer below complained about a lack of artistic grace in the translation -- this is so by design! This is an advantage rather than a flaw: with the original staring right at you from the left page you're not going to miss anything; the only thing you need is a bit of assistance understanding forgotten words and difficult passages, and so the more literal the translation, the better. The poetry comes from the left side: *that* is what you read; the right side you only consult -- when necessary. There are plenty of very good verse translations of Rimbaud; a reader having no command of French whatsoever should of course use those, but no translation, no matter how fine, can be exactly equivalent to the original: some things are bound to be missing, some things appear that aren't in the source -- reading poetry in translation is never quite the same, it is always a variation on the theme; the translator's rendering may even be better than the original, but never the same. If you're interested in Rimbaud and your French is weak, this book is what you need; I wholeheartedly recommend this anthology; it's very well done.
Rating:
Summary: If you have at least a smattering of French -- 10 stars
Review: Original on the left side, *literal* translation on the right. If your French is a bit rusty (like mine), reading the "bare" original text only may prove toilsome. For such a reader, Fowlie's book is a great help -- you still have access to the original verse, but do not have to consult a dictionary every minute. A reviewer below complained about a lack of artistic grace in the translation -- this is so by design! This is an advantage rather than a flaw: with the original staring right at you from the left page you're not going to miss anything; the only thing you need is a bit of assistance understanding forgotten words and difficult passages, and so the more literal the translation, the better. The poetry comes from the left side: *that* is what you read; the right side you only consult -- when necessary. There are plenty of very good verse translations of Rimbaud; a reader having no command of French whatsoever should of course use those, but no translation, no matter how fine, can be exactly equivalent to the original: some things are bound to be missing, some things appear that aren't in the source -- reading poetry in translation is never quite the same, it is always a variation on the theme; the translator's rendering may even be better than the original, but never the same. If you're interested in Rimbaud and your French is weak, this book is what you need; I wholeheartedly recommend this anthology; it's very well done.
Rating: 
Summary: The Indispensable English Translation of Rimbaud's Works
Review: This book is another where the translator took it upon himself to rewrite the 'colors' in the work. Boo. Poetry (in a simple definition) is not supposed to please, its supposed to cause thought/emotion that wouldn't otherwise have taken place. I am fortunate enough to live a few blocks from the place where Louis Varese did the first translations, and I say a prayer of thanks every time I pass. Note to the writer: Next time pick subject matter you are comfortable with to translate, instead of leading an inquisition against work you obviously have problems with.
Rating:
Summary: useful if you know french
Review: This is very complete, but the english translations are pretty bad, useful if you are reading in french and forget some of the words. If you are going to read Rimbaud in english, get the Louise Varese (new directions) editions instead.
Rating:
Summary: The Indispensable English Translation of Rimbaud's Works
Review: Wallace Fowlie's translation of Rimbaud's complete poeticworks, together with a selection of Rimbaud's letters, provides themost complete and reliable English translation of Rimbaud's poetry and a useful companion to the many books on Rimbaud's life. While Fowlie's translations are workmanlike and somewhat unimaginative, they are generally faithful to the original French text. Moreover, because the original French version and the English translation are on facing pages, the reader can easily compare Fowlie's translation with the reader's own understanding and interpretation of the French text. In this respect, the book is particularly useful if you have some French fluency. All translations are, by their nature, inauthentic since there is never a perfect correspondence between the resonant images and meanings of the original language and the new language into which a text is translated. Translation is, as one critic has said, "like kissing someone through a veil"; the sensations (meanings) of the original are occluded by the translative process. Recognizing this inevitable deficiency, all that a reader can ask is that a translation approximate, as closely as possible, the linguistic meaning of the original. Fowlie has achieved this, more so than many other translators of Rimbaud, who have corrupted the integrity of Rimbaud's original meanings by their own creative and symbolistic interpretive renderings. Fowlie also has provided solid translations of Rimbaud's important letters, particularly the letters of May, 1871, to George Izambard and Paul Demeny which articulate Rimbaud's precocious and iconoclastic aesthetic view of the role of the poet. If the book has any real shortcoming, it is the truncated and relatively unintersting biographical section and a lack of detailed notes. However, those failings can be excused by the fact that Wylie's book achieves its main objective--bringing a complete text of Rimbaud's poems to the English speaking world. If you are studying Rimbaud and the biographical details of his early life, and you cannot read the original French, Wylie's collection is indispensable
Rating:
Summary: The Rimbaud to get
Review: While the Penguin and Oxford Classics editions claim to be complete, they are not. This edition has several later works that those other editions simply do not include. The literal translation provided does not attempt to be its own art, which is often a translator's greatest virtue. It serves best as a set of cribs for someone who has some French, but whose French isn't perfect.
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