Baudelaire's "Paris Spleen," translated by Louise Varese, has been a favorite of mine for many years, and I've long found Charles to be an amusing and fascinating cluster of human contradictions. And so I was glad to find, 4 days late, as it were, your biographical essay on the poet. It provided me with many new details about his life and brightened the typically varied weather of an early spring day in New England. I have enjoyed and I appreciate all your biographical videos of poets, including the ones on Stevens and Robinson. I thank you, sir.
Thank you so much for sharing this video. I learned so much from your lecture!! I read a Chinese translation of The Flowers of Evil many many years ago. The connection between Baudelaire and Poe remind me that of the Song Dynasty poet Su Shi with the Eastern Jin Dynasty poet Tao Yuan-ming. Su claimed that he was Tao in his other life. And Su Shi did everything to promote Tao and making Tao a cultural icon from the Song Dynasty on!!
What a sad and tragic life: why are poets particularly condemned to be outsiders...Baudelaire one of the most representative. Fascinating presentation... thank you.
Thank you Mr Gioia. Reminds me of my French ‘A’ level studies We studied Baudelaire:- Andromaque je pense a vous La mort le vieux capitan I missed out on any indepth study because our teacher left. It would be wonderful if you could discuss some of his work. Much appreciated.
I have to commend your exceptionally fantastic presentation and it’s artful quality. I do look forward to perusing through your catalog of works and hope to find more impassioned literary biographies and the such in the future. Thank you for the light you’re shining on a area of culture overshadowed by the dimwitted popular culture fanaticisms of our day.
Here is a rough table of contents 0:01 - Baudelaire’s Childhood 5:45 - Baudelaire devotes himself to literature and pleasure 9:45 - Baudelaire takes Jean Duval as his mistress 12:25 - Baudelaire goes broke 15:05 - Baudelaire discovers Edgar Allan Poe 18:18 - The Cursed Poet (Le poete Maudit) 28:05 - Publishes Le Fleur du Mal (Flowers of Evil) 29:20 - Censorship Trial 31:30 - Middle-aged and incurably unhappy 36:50 - Prose Poems (The Spleen of Paris) 38:30 - Baudelaire’s notebooks 40:00 - Baudelaire’s Late Life
@glenncbjones Reminds me of Gracie Allen's astonished look following this exchange. Gracie Allen "My family was so poor, I had to sleep on the floor" George Burns "My family didn't even have a floor to sleep on."
Hey Mr. Gioia, An excellent essay with also equally quite excellent illustrations! While I have explored Baudelaire’s poetry and life before (the Millay-Dillon translations of his work being my preferred “rabbit hole”), I never before was struck by how greatly Baudelaire and Poe resembled each other, especially in their later years! It’s almost “spooky”… Thank you Dana! I believe I must subscribe! Happy Thanksgiving! - Best regards, Glenn Jones
The case of influence between Poe and Baudelaire may be the single most remarkable --or at lest productive-- case in literary history. It not only inspired Baudelaire's work but also the entire symbolist movement. And it made Poe himself into an international literary figure.
Baudelaire's poems in The Flowers of Evil also remind me a the poems of a Tang Dynasty poet Li He who also happened to be from a minor aristocrat family. He was also obsessed with death, ghost, and find beauty in them! Maybe I should make a video about Li He. It would be really interesting to reading them side by side!!
Thank you for your support. I certainly would make more videos about Classical Chinese poetry! I have made quite a few so far but I haven't made anyone about Li He. I've made a note to made one about Li He and his ghostly poems!@@DanaGioiaPoet
Yeah. That rock n’ roll lifestyle can kill you. We believe in using narcotics to inspire our thoughts and life. It doesn’t always work that way.🧑🎨🙏💉♾️🗝️❤️⭐️
Ur both speaking from your own lives perhaps.. and perhaps that's all we are capable of doing .. sadness is of course a personal identification .. judgement also
A guy who spent the entire family fortune dedicating his life to literature and debauchery. Baudelaire in the 19th century, yes without a doubt. But also the Brazilian Oswald de Andrade in the 20th century.
Dear Dana Gioia! When you spoke in the podcast recorded during The Catholic Imagination Conference 2022 about your theories of why it is good to read Baudelaire, Roxanne, my avid-reader friend who came with me to the conference (mother of 11, grandmother of 28 and counting) was able to get into the room where the recording was made, but I got there after the doors were shut. Roxane is not a prude, but she is a devout Catholic, and she told me afterwards that she was perturbed by your defense of why it is good to read Baudelaire. I watched the podcast later, and it seems to me that even the interviewer was perturbed by what you were saying. If I grasp your points properly, your defense of reading the author of Flowers of Evil is somewhat along the lines of celebrating that Baudelaire expanded the range of topics that poetry can include. As if that's undeniably a good thing. Arguably it is not. Also a point I think you made in favor of reading Baudelaire is that he shows in superb ground-breaking verse, how not to live. My thought is that even though most far-too-open-minded intellectuals celebrate the breaking of barriers against the expression of pornographic things, much has been soiled by the flood of filth that entered literature after the barriers were breached by writers like Baudelaire and Joyce. (Philip Roth's Portnoy's Complaint and Alan Ginsberg's Howl are two negative examples that spring to mind.) Also, about the idea of using Baudelaire as a cautionary example: in reality we can see lots of examples of how not to live everywhere, and we don't need to read poetry about evil to be convinced that we should not wallow in it. He's certainly not my cup of absinthe! With all sincerely felt respect, I'm putting this out here only because I think nobody but me is going to brave the scorn of those who think that people who think as I do are prudes, but I'm sure that Roxanne and I are not alone and we have good justification. And, although nobody likes to bring Scripture into these kinds of discussions, scorning it as "proof texting," but even so, I have to add what St. Paul wrote in his letter to the Philippians Chapter 4, verse 8, "Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." St. Paul wouldn't approve of reading Baudelaire either!
Yes, that passage does make us stop in our tracks. Baudelaire on Poe is one of the most interesting commentaries any writer has ever written about another.
Great to make contact, we are the same age and both took masters degrees from Harvard, I took a BA from Vanderbilt where I studied with W T Bandy whose work I'm sure you know. @@DanaGioiaPoet
I disagree. It feels genuine and thoroughly researched versus acted out. He speaks with varied articulation and clear phrasing and its interesting on its own.
wait, this narration is so good
Baudelaire's "Paris Spleen," translated by Louise Varese, has been a favorite of mine for many years, and I've long found Charles to be an amusing and fascinating cluster of human contradictions.
And so I was glad to find, 4 days late, as it were, your biographical essay on the poet. It provided me with many new details about his life and brightened the typically varied weather of an early spring day in New England.
I have enjoyed and I appreciate all your biographical videos of poets, including the ones on Stevens and Robinson.
I thank you, sir.
What an absolute delight to stumble across your wonderful presentation about this iconic "dreamer of decadence."
Thank you so much for sharing this video. I learned so much from your lecture!! I read a Chinese translation of The Flowers of Evil many many years ago. The connection between Baudelaire and Poe remind me that of the Song Dynasty poet Su Shi with the Eastern Jin Dynasty poet Tao Yuan-ming. Su claimed that he was Tao in his other life. And Su Shi did everything to promote Tao and making Tao a cultural icon from the Song Dynasty on!!
What a sad and tragic life: why are poets particularly condemned to be outsiders...Baudelaire one of the most representative. Fascinating presentation... thank you.
Found a quote from one of his poems on my Temu hoodie and now I’m so invested 🙌🏾
waited years for this
This is so fun and interesting. I can’t wait for the next part! 👏🏼
Very haunting. I love it!
This is great. Not a lot/ enough on Baudelaire on UA-cam. Thank you
Thank you Mr Gioia.
Reminds me of my French ‘A’ level studies
We studied Baudelaire:-
Andromaque je pense a vous
La mort le vieux capitan
I missed out on any indepth study because our teacher left.
It would be wonderful if you could discuss some of his work.
Much appreciated.
Content was excellent; narrator’s voice and delivery, superb! Looking forward to more of these videos.
I have to commend your exceptionally fantastic presentation and it’s artful quality. I do look forward to perusing through your catalog of works and hope to find more impassioned literary biographies and the such in the future. Thank you for the light you’re shining on a area of culture overshadowed by the dimwitted popular culture fanaticisms of our day.
Here is a rough table of contents
0:01 - Baudelaire’s Childhood
5:45 - Baudelaire devotes himself to literature and pleasure
9:45 - Baudelaire takes Jean Duval as his mistress
12:25 - Baudelaire goes broke
15:05 - Baudelaire discovers Edgar Allan Poe
18:18 - The Cursed Poet (Le poete Maudit)
28:05 - Publishes Le Fleur du Mal (Flowers of Evil)
29:20 - Censorship Trial
31:30 - Middle-aged and incurably unhappy
36:50 - Prose Poems (The Spleen of Paris)
38:30 - Baudelaire’s notebooks
40:00 - Baudelaire’s Late Life
Some people are terrible at handling money. Then there was his problem with alcohol. I love his book "Flowers of Evil." Thanks, Dana, for this.
His life is very colorful. I am glad you enjoyed the video.
Some people can’t even find any money TO handle!
- XOXOXO!
@glenncbjones
Reminds me of Gracie Allen's astonished look following this exchange.
Gracie Allen "My family was so poor, I had to sleep on the floor"
George Burns "My family didn't even have a floor to sleep on."
Bravo, Mr. Gioia!
Pleasing to see!
Thank you. I now know that a 14 line poem is a Sonnet.
there are a few more rules to sonnet than that
Bravos and thanks.
Thanks so much for your masterful and sensative biography of Baudelaire, nicely augmented by your reading and visuals.
Thank you so much, sir. This is excellent. Very helpful.
Hey Mr. Gioia,
An excellent essay with also equally quite excellent illustrations!
While I have explored Baudelaire’s poetry and life before (the Millay-Dillon translations of his work being my preferred “rabbit hole”), I never before was struck by how greatly Baudelaire and Poe resembled each other, especially in their later years! It’s almost “spooky”…
Thank you Dana! I believe I must subscribe!
Happy Thanksgiving!
- Best regards,
Glenn Jones
The case of influence between Poe and Baudelaire may be the single most remarkable --or at lest productive-- case in literary history. It not only inspired Baudelaire's work but also the entire symbolist movement. And it made Poe himself into an international literary figure.
Baudelaire's poems in The Flowers of Evil also remind me a the poems of a Tang Dynasty poet Li He who also happened to be from a minor aristocrat family. He was also obsessed with death, ghost, and find beauty in them! Maybe I should make a video about Li He. It would be really interesting to reading them side by side!!
You should make a video. There needs to be more accessible videos about classical Chinese poetry.
Thank you for your support. I certainly would make more videos about Classical Chinese poetry! I have made quite a few so far but I haven't made anyone about Li He. I've made a note to made one about Li He and his ghostly poems!@@DanaGioiaPoet
Very well done video. Thank you!
Thank you, very enlightening.
Tank you🌸💓
Well told fascinating material.
Incredible viedo such a shame it only has 50K views
Excellent presentation 🔥
This is great!
Thank you.❤
The saddest thing about this person is that he did it all to himself. Didn't have help from anybody else in going straight down the drain.
Yeah. That rock n’ roll lifestyle can kill you. We believe in using narcotics to inspire our thoughts and life. It doesn’t always work that way.🧑🎨🙏💉♾️🗝️❤️⭐️
Ur both speaking from your own lives perhaps.. and perhaps that's all we are capable of doing .. sadness is of course a personal identification .. judgement also
THE KING OF POEMS
Hope the channel becomes more consistent :c
I have felt the wind of the wings of baldness, Pow!
Interesting
Came across his name in various lovecraft stories....
A guy who spent the entire family fortune dedicating his life to literature and debauchery. Baudelaire in the 19th century, yes without a doubt. But also the Brazilian Oswald de Andrade in the 20th century.
Reminds me of someone
AC ❤the Masters Favorite
Dear Dana Gioia! When you spoke in the podcast recorded during The Catholic Imagination Conference 2022 about your theories of why it is good to read Baudelaire, Roxanne, my avid-reader friend who came with me to the conference (mother of 11, grandmother of 28 and counting) was able to get into the room where the recording was made, but I got there after the doors were shut. Roxane is not a prude, but she is a devout Catholic, and she told me afterwards that she was perturbed by your defense of why it is good to read Baudelaire. I watched the podcast later, and it seems to me that even the interviewer was perturbed by what you were saying. If I grasp your points properly, your defense of reading the author of Flowers of Evil is somewhat along the lines of celebrating that Baudelaire expanded the range of topics that poetry can include. As if that's undeniably a good thing. Arguably it is not. Also a point I think you made in favor of reading Baudelaire is that he shows in superb ground-breaking verse, how not to live. My thought is that even though most far-too-open-minded intellectuals celebrate the breaking of barriers against the expression of pornographic things, much has been soiled by the flood of filth that entered literature after the barriers were breached by writers like Baudelaire and Joyce. (Philip Roth's Portnoy's Complaint and Alan Ginsberg's Howl are two negative examples that spring to mind.) Also, about the idea of using Baudelaire as a cautionary example: in reality we can see lots of examples of how not to live everywhere, and we don't need to read poetry about evil to be convinced that we should not wallow in it. He's certainly not my cup of absinthe! With all sincerely felt respect, I'm putting this out here only because I think nobody but me is going to brave the scorn of those who think that people who think as I do are prudes, but I'm sure that Roxanne and I are not alone and we have good justification. And, although nobody likes to bring Scripture into these kinds of discussions, scorning it as "proof texting," but even so, I have to add what St. Paul wrote in his letter to the Philippians Chapter 4, verse 8, "Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." St. Paul wouldn't approve of reading Baudelaire either!
🙏
Delicious...
18:12
Yes, that passage does make us stop in our tracks. Baudelaire on Poe is one of the most interesting commentaries any writer has ever written about another.
W
Shout out Charles baudelaire God does not even to exist to be important
Reading from his papers is not exactly inspiring.
I agree. I do not try to be personally entertaining. I want to present the subject as clearly and engagingly as possible.
Great to make contact, we are the same age and both took masters degrees from Harvard, I took
a BA from Vanderbilt where I studied with W T Bandy whose work I'm sure you know. @@DanaGioiaPoet
Touché!@@DanaGioiaPoet
I disagree. It feels genuine and thoroughly researched versus acted out. He speaks with varied articulation and clear phrasing and its interesting on its own.