Person    | Male  Born 30/3/1844  Died 8/1/1896

Paul Verlaine

Categories: Poetry

Countries: Belgium, France

French poet. Born Metz, France. Has been described as an ugly, homicidal alcoholic. He effectively eloped from his own marriage to live with Rimbaud. Following his imprisonment for attempted murder of Rimbaud in Brussels (see BrusselsRemembers), he was released in January 1875. He returned to Britain, and ended up as a schoolmaster in Stickney, a village near Boston in Lincolnshire. No plaque, apparently, but Verlaine does appear in one of the school photographs. Relied on his mother for support much of his life. Returned to France where he had another homosexual affair. Thereafter mainly lived in Paris, under the shadow of his past scandals. Only late in his life was his poetry valued. Died Paris, aged 51.

Some of this information comes from the Verlaine Soho Mural podcast - worth a listen.

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Paul Verlaine

Commemorated ati

Spirit of Soho Mural

Interesting that Coca Cola are specifically mentioned on the panel but not as...

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Verlaine and Rimbaud

Chosen as our featured memorial in July 2004. The decadent relationship lived...

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Verlaine birth

Dans cette maison, le poete Paul Verlaine est ne le 30 Mars 1844. (Translate...

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