In 1872 literary France was scandalized when Arthur Rimbaud, the enfant terrible of French poetry, seduced Paul Verlaine, then a much more famous poet, away from his wife and child and ran away with him to London. Two of the greatest French poets of the Nineteenth century, they have been hailed as harbingers of the modern age, the inspiration for Rock Stars, and as pioneers for gay rights. This spectacular Poet in the City event will celebrate the poetry of Rimbaud and Verlaine and the stormy but creative period they spent together at No 8 Royal College Street in King’s Cross in 1873.

Chaired by Alan Jenkins, Poetry and Deputy editor of the TLS. His most recent collections of poetry are A Shorter Life (2005) and a highly acclaimed translation of Rimbaud’s “Le Bateau Ivre”: Drunken Boats, 2007.

Graham Robb, literary and cultural historian, formerly Fellow and Lecturer at Exeter College Oxford. Prize-winning biographer of Rimbaud, Balzac and Victor Hugo, his latest book is The Discovery of France.

Dominique Combe, Professor of French Literature at the Paris Sorbonne, also Visiting Professor and Fellow of Wadham College Oxford. A specialist in 19th-21st century poetry, his notable study of Rimbaud was published in 2004.

Martin Sorrell, Professor of French at Exeter University. His books include: Verlaine: Selected Poems and Rimbaud: Collected Poems. His last play, The Glass Man, won the Mental Health Media Award for Best Radio Drama, 2006.

Yann Frémy, currently author and co-editor of recognised Rimbaud and Verlaine studies, he organises the Annual ‘Verlaine/Rimbaud’ Seminars at Paris Sorbonne, and is a member of Strasbourg University CERIEL group.

£9.50

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