New Arthur Rimbaud Museum Opens Its Doors in France

In Charleville-Mézières, France, an old mill on the River Meuse has been renovated to house the story of notorious 19th century poet, Arthur Rimbaud. Charleville-Mézières is also the place of Rimbaud's birth. More:

The town of Charleville-Mézières has renovated the Old Mill on the river Meuse to house a new collection telling the story of its most famous son, the 19th-century poet Arthur Rimbaud. Rimbaud only lived to 37, but as unsettled as his poetry can be unsettling, he travelled the length and breadth of Europe as far as Harar in Abyssinia, today Ethiopia.

In its bucolic setting, the new Arthur Rimbaud Museum may seem a more suitable location to house works and memorabilia from Alphonse de Lamartine, a French contemporary of Romantic poet or John Keats than the wayward genius himself.

The town's approach to things poetic is broad, says André Marquet, deputy mayor of Charleville-Mézières and head of cultural affairs."

“Poetry is one of the pillars of the town’s cultural policy, after all Rimbaud was born here,” he explains with a hint of pride in his voice, underscoring its cultural value, "The new museum will give the public access for the first time ever to interesting manuscripts.”

The town’s aim was to combine objects telling the story of Rimbaud’s short life and his literary legacy in one space but also to demonstrate his influence on artists in words, images, sound, shapes and colours. It’s also given them the opportunity to update the collection and the way it’s presented. The new design incorporates audiovisual elements in the light-diffused rooms, passages and vertically open space on four floors. The bottom floor affords the visitor a close-up view of the river flowing beneath. [...]

Learn more at RFI English.