It's no secret. Patti Smith has a devouring passion for poetry, and for many French poets such as Guillaume Apollinaire, Charles Baudelaire and Paul Verlaine. But there's one that the American singer and musician particularly admires: Arthur Rimbaud. In fact, the rock icon bought a house on the famous poet's land, in Roche, in the commune of Chuffilly-Roche, not far from Charleville-Mézières.
At the end of September, the artist was in France to present the book"Une saison en enfer" byArthur Rimbaud. Published by Editions Gallimard on September 28, 2023, this is a sublime work illustrated with drawings, writings and photos by Patti Smith. In this augmented literary work, entirely conceived by the New York artist, " Patti Smith has chosen to contrast the poems of 'A Season in Hell' with moments from her own history, thanks to drawings, photos, documents, unpublished texts...".
A few days before a signing session at the Gallimard bookshop in Paris, Patti Smith took the opportunity to inaugurate the"Sur les pas de Rimbaud" trail in the Ardennes. Rehabilitated between Roche and the Voncq train station, this is a path the poet used to take the train to Paris.
On the occasion of this inauguration in the Grand Est region, Patti Smith also met with Augustin Trapenard, host of La Grande Librairie, to talk about Arthur Rimbaud, of course, and this new work. The meeting took place in Chuffilly-Roche, in the house where Arthur Rimbaud wrote"Une saison en enfer".
Join us on France 5 this October 18, 2023 at 9:05pm for an exclusive interview with Patti Smith about Arthur Rimbaud's"Une saison en enfer". Other authors announced for this literary program include Frédéric Lenoir, Camille Riquier, Benoît Coquil and Léonor de Récondo.
