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beautyistruth's review
5.0
I love the high and melodious timbre of Verlaine's verse, and his honesty and forthrightness. He had an interesting life.
msand3's review against another edition
4.0
What this collection shows more than anything is that Verlaine always needed a muse, whether it be Rimbaud, his wife (perhaps for all the wrong reasons!), or his mistress Eugenie Krantz. He’s at his best when he’s writing at someone (or something) and when he’s writing with a noticeable chip on his shoulder. Only when forced to reflect on his own solitary existence and slowly dying flame near the end of his life does his verse begin to fall flat. It’s as if he needed the drama of personal contact (figuratively and literally!) to propel his poetry into immortal song, as opposed to languishing as a banal ditty, which his late poems often suggest.
I enjoy his poetry, even though it can be varying in quality. This was a well-chosen collection.
I enjoy his poetry, even though it can be varying in quality. This was a well-chosen collection.
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