VERLAINE (Paul) - Lot 300

VERLAINE (Paul) Born in Metz. 1844–1896. Poet. C.A.S. “P. Verlaine” to the publisher Heinemann in London. Paris, March 27, 1895. 1 oblong page. Address and postmarks. ...You will receive, along with this letter, two short poems that I think will be well-received there. Please take good care of them and see to their fate, if you think it possible... I hope your health is better than mine—I’m still bedridden, but things are getting a little better... Verlaine wrote at the top: ...16 rue St Victor (c/o Mlle Krantz)... [Verlaine had moved in with Eugénie Krantz in 1891. He led a turbulent life with her. In February 1895, he was once again living with Mlle Krantz, who had moved to 16 rue Saint-Victor (as indicated here), before settling on rue Descartes (at number 39), where Verlaine died on January 8, 1896] Verlaine made numerous trips to England, where he met young British artists. However, these encounters remain a mystery in his correspondence, since only nine letters (or fragments) are known to us from the *Correspondance* (Volume III) compiled by Van Bever. However, we know of the friendship that bound Verlaine to the English poet Arthur Symons (who was the first to translate Verlaine), who published Verlaine’s final travelogue from England in the magazine *The Savoy* in April 1896. At Symons’ invitation, he had traveled to London and Oxford for lectures with his friend, the painter William Rothenstein, in November 1893. It was probably through Symons that Verlaine met the publisher of the young English poet, William Heinemann (who was also Conrad’s publisher), who had just founded his publishing house in London in 1890