Rimbaud and modern culture

Rimbaud and modern culture - The influence of 19th century French poet Arthur Rimbaud on modern literature, music and art has been pervasive.

Writers

* Craig Gidney - In his short story "Strange Alphabets", Gidney fictionalizes Rimbaud's first homosexual encounter, a molestation by a traveler on the youth's train ride to Paris.
* Thomas Ligotti - This horror writer has shown a fondness for Rimbaud's work.
* Michael Nyman - His poem "L'Orgie parisienne, ou Paris se repeuple" is set as part of "La Traversée de Paris" and "The Michael Nyman Songbook".
* Patti Smith wrote two poems about Rimbaud: "Dream of Rimbaud," from her book "Witt", and "Rimbaud Dead", from "Babel".
* Dylan Thomas - The Welsh poet described himself as 'the Rimbaud of Cwmdonkin Drive'

* Rimbaud also influenced Philippe Sollers, Bruce Chatwin, French poets in general, Mário Cesariny de Vasconcelos, Sérgio Godinho, T. S. Eliot, J. D. Salinger, Bob Kaufman, Henry Miller, Anaïs Nin, and beat generation writers Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William S. Burroughs, among others.

Music

* Alternative TV - The early UK punk band references Rimbaud in their song "Viva La Rock and Roll": "Arthur Rimbaud spoke to me/Through New York's New Wave".

* Bob Dylan - Dylan confesses his love for Rimbaud's poetry in his autobiography, "Chronicles: Volume One". He refers to Rimbaud in his song "You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go" from "Blood on the Tracks": "Situations have ended sad, / Relationships have all been bad. / Mine've been like Verlaine's and Rimbaud. / But there's no way I can compare / All them scenes to this affair, / You're gonna make me lonesome when you go."

* Courtney Love - In her book "Dirty Blonde", a collection of her diaries, Courtney has a pasted picture of Rimbaud among the pages.

* Crass - Co-founder and drummer Penny Rimbaud named himself as a tribute to Arthur Rimbaud, the 'Penny' being a pun on the phrase "arfer (half a) penny", referring to the long discontinued British Ha'penny coin.

* Frou Frou - The British electronica duo take their name from a Rimbaud poem.

* Hector Zazou - The French musician's 1992 album "Sahara Blue" uses Rimbaud's poems as lyrics for 11 of the 12 tracks, and features contributions from David Sylvian, Anneli Drecker, John Cale, Gérard Depardieu, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Tim Simenon, and Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard of Dead Can Dance.

* Jim Morrison - "The Lizard King" is said to have described himself as "a Rimbaud with a leather jacket".

* Larrikin Love - Their 2005 single "Happy As Annie" takes its image of a corpse being mistaken for a sleeping person from Rimbaud's poem "Asleep In The Valley".

* Patti Smith - The poet and "Godmother of Punk" has a line in her song "Land" where she urges the listener to "Do the watusi/ And go Rimbaud! Go Rimbaud!"

* Red Rider - This Canadian rock group's 1980 song "White Hot" was written about Rimbaud. [http://www.tomcochrane.com/pages/articles/newspaper/cohranefindsnewmeaning.htm]

* Theatres des Vampires - The Italian gothic band sings (in the original French) a sentence of "Jadis, si je me souviens bien . . . " in their song "Cursed". They also include a line taken from the poem "Nuit de l'Enfer" ("Night of Hell") in their song "Lunatic Asylum", this time in English.

* The Clash - In the song "Ghetto Defendant" on the album "Combat Rock" poet Allen Ginsberg refers to Rimbaud and the Paris Commune. Co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and lead singer Joe Strummer has recognized Rimbaud as an influence.

* The Medicine Show - This London-based Rock and Roll band makes reference to the poet in their name, and chief songwriter, John Hall, openly claims Rimbaud as an inspiration in his own lyrics.

* Too Much Joy - In their song "My Past Lives", they state "I was sick a lot when I was Rimbaud".

* Van Morrison - Morrison was reading Rimbaud during a period in the (mid-1970s) when he "wasn't writing anything at all, and I really couldn't understand why." After learning Rimbaud had stopped writing at 26, he said, "ironically that sorta got me writing again". He then started the song, "Tore Down a la Rimbaud," but didn't finish it for eight years. He also mentions Rimbaud in the song "Foreign Window" from "No Guru, No Method, No Teacher".

* Rimbaud also influenced Dwid Hellion of the Cleveland band Integrity, Richard Hell, Pete Doherty, John Lennon, and Rozz Williams, among others.

In film

* Leonardo DiCaprio portrayed Rimbaud in the 1995 film "Total Eclipse" with David Thewlis as his lover Paul Verlaine.

* Rimbaud is heavily referenced in the 1983 film "Eddie and the Cruisers", and the fictional band's albums are named after Rimbaud's works (e.g., "A Season in Hell").

*In Jean-Luc Godard's film "Bande à part", one of the three principal characters (who are known only by their first names), goes by "Arthur". When asked what his family name is, he declares earnestly that it is "Rimbaud". Another of Godard's movies, "Pierrot Le Fou", contains many references to Rimbaud's work, mostly in the director's narration.

* In Pier Paolo Pasolini's movie "Teorema", the mysterious visitor, played by Terence Stamp, is often seen reading a small book by Rimbaud.

* "I'm Not There," is an oblique Bob Dylan biography told through six characters. One of these characters is called Arthur Rimbaud. The film was directed and co-written by Todd Haynes.

* Rimbaud also influenced German actor Klaus Kinski.

* In "Murder by Numbers", the character Justin Pendleton, played by Michael Pitt, is shown reading Rimbaud's poem "The Drunken Boat".

* In "The Poet and the Bear", the character Ruth goes on the run with Rimbaud to escape a giant teddybear. The film was directed by Brian Philip Davis.

Others

* French footballer Eric Cantona, when interviewed by the British press about influences on his life during the early 1990s, named Rimbaud as one of his heroes. However, the press thought he was talking about the Sylvester Stallone movie character Rambo.

* Rimbaud also influenced Italian comic book creator Hugo Pratt, as well as modern artists Stephen Kasner and David Wojnarowicz.

*Australian painter Brett Whitely cited Rimbaud as an influence on his paintings. Brett also created a portrait of Rimbaud in 1972.