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920 pages, Paperback
First published June 25, 1857
Have you too wondered how tempting pain can be,
And made men wonder what you were, and why?
My soul was filled with love, anxiety,
Dread and desire, I was about to die
and translated by James McGowan (Oxford World鈥檚 Classics of Fleurs du Mal
鈥淒ream of a Curious Man鈥�
Do you, as I do, know a zesty grief,
And is it said of you, 鈥榗urious man!鈥�
I dreamed of dying; in my spirit鈥檚 heat
Desire and horror mixed, a strange mischance
There is no comparison here. A 鈥渮esty grief鈥�? Are you fucking kidding me? If you use the word zesty, I start thinking of flavors of Doritos. The meter is equally cheesy. And this is the Oxford World鈥檚 Classics; people read this shit to think they鈥檙e highbrow! No wonder my first few attempts ended in failure; with translations such as the horrible one of James McGowan, it鈥檚 really lucky that Baudelaire found a place among English readers at all. The incantatory quality of Martin鈥檚 on the other hand is gripping from the very first line, profound, paradoxical, beautiful. I recommend this volume all the way.