Baudelaire: The Poems in Prose

This volume contains all of Baudelaire's Petits Poèmes en prose', which were written over many years and published in magazines between 1855 and his death in 1867. The French is given on the left-hand page with Francis Scarfe's translations, which reflect a lifetime's passion for and intimate understanding of Baudelaire's work, on the facing page. The appeal of this beautiful book', says Francis Scarfe in his introduction, 'lies in its wide range of subjects, its variations of tone and mood, its great variety of presentation and above all in its psychological subtleties. It shows the poet at the height of his powers, totally uninhibited in his expression of wonder, tenderness and compassion'. To these prose poems Francis Scarfe has appended an early prose extravaganza, the short novel La Fanfarlo' (1847). The companion volume, The Complete Verse', contains Les Fleurs du mal' (1861), Nouvelles Fleurs du mal' (1868), Les Épaves' (1866) and all of Baudelaire's other poetry in verse. Francis Scarfe (1911-86) was a lecturer in French poetry at Glasgow University before and again after World War II. From 1959 to 1978, he was director of the British Institute. In recognition of his contribution to Anglo-French cultural relations he was made a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres (1962), and for his work on Baudelaire he was awarded the Prix de L'Ile Saint-Louis (1966); on his retirement in 1978 he was made a Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur. He was the author of four collections of poetry and of the critical works Auden and After' and André Chénier, His Life and Work'.