Books with title Flowers of God

The Flowers of Evil (first published in 1857), originally condemned as obscene, is recognized as a masterpiece, especially remarkable for the brilliant phrasing, rhythm, and expressiveness of its lyrics. Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867) was one of the greatest French poets of the 19th century. His work has been a major influence on Western poetry and modern poetry in general as, thematically, he was one of the first poets whose subject was often urban life and its dark side, with all of its evils and the degradation of its temptations. His poems, classical in form, introduced Symbolism, he is also known as a writer of the Decadent group. Baudelaire was moody and rebellious, imbued with an intense religious mysticism, and his work reflects an unremitting inner despair. His main theme is the inseparable nature of beauty and corruption.

Professor Jackson Mathews felt that no one translator could encompass Baudelaire's full range. Over a period of seven years he and his wife collected and compared all available English translations of the poems. The culmination of their efforts brings the best work of 30 translators (including Aldous Huxley and Edna St. Vincent Millay) represented in the 163 poems presented in this volume. The complete French texts, as established for the Pleiade edition, are provided making this a bilingual edition. Several of the poems were never before published and the first English translations of Baudelaire's three drafts for a Preface are also included.

The Flowers of Evil, which T.S. Eliot called the greatest example of modern poetry in any language, shocked the literary world of nineteenth century France with its outspoken portrayal of lesbian love, its linking of sexuality and death, its unremitting irony, and its unflinching celebration of the seamy side of urban life. Including the French texts and comprehensive explanatory notes to the poems, this extraordinary body of love poems restores the six poems originally banned in 1857, revealing the richness and variety of the collection.