Poetry, Translations

Flowers of Evil and Paris Spleen

"I am moved by these translations, by mastery of both languages, plus the total absorption of the spirit of Baudelaire. Dr. Crosby...preserves the passion and verbal power of Baudelaire, the voice and rhythm of the verse. I recognize Baudelaire's voice in these translations." —Anna Balakian, Professor of Comparitive Literature, NYU, and author of The Symbolist Movement

Far, Far From Here

Here is a house that's doubly blessed
Where dwells a girl, much overdressed,
Tranquil yet ready as the best.

With one small hand she fans her breast,
An elbow in her cushions pressed;
Her fountains weep without a rest.

This now is Dorothea's suite.
—Far off a falls or breeze complains:
The sobbings of their songs compete
To soothe this pampered little cheat.

From high and low, by greatest pains,
Her tender skin is made replete
With salves and scents and lovely stains.
—A flower in its nook repines.

© BOA Editions, Ltd 1991

Available editions:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Price: $23.95

FormatPaperback

Publication DateDecember 1, 1991

ISBN0918526876

$20.00

About the Author

Charles Baudelaire

Charles Baudelaire (1821–1867) was a French poet, essayist, art critic, and translator whose works and translations influenced the Symbolist movement in the late 19th century. His most prominent works of poetry include Les Fleurs du mal (1857) and the posthumous collection Le Spleen du Paris (1869), which were translated into English by William Crosby and published together as Flowers of Evil & Paris Spleen by BOA Editions in 1991.

William Crosby

William H. Crosby was born in 1914 and raised in Oil City, Pennsylvania. He served the U.S. Army in many capacities but his expertise was within the medical field. Having published over 500 articles on various aspects of medicine, Crosby turned his attention to Charles Baudelaire after reading one of his “Spleen” poems in Les Fleurs du mal. Because Baudelaire used “spleen” to indicate an organ of anger and melancholy, Crosby provided his own translated quatrain from Baudelaire’s poems to introduce previous connotations attached to the spleen. He worked on Les Fleurs du Mal and Le Spleen de Paris for 14 years.