1896

Paul Verlaine

Categories: Poetry

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.

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

Commemorated ati

Paul Verlaine - lost plaque

Plaque

Spirit of Soho Mural

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

Verlaine and Rimbaud

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

Verlaine birth

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

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Other Subjects

Earl of Rochester, John Wilmot

Poet, wit and courtier. Born Ditchley, Oxfordshire. The picture source website contains an example of his poetry: "Imperfect Enjoyment" - not for the prudish. Died at his grace and favour home at H...

Person, Poetry

1 memorial

George Seferis

Greek Ambassador 1957 - 62. Poet and Nobel laureate (literature, 1963). Born Smyrna. Died Athens.

Person, Poetry, Politics & Administration, Greece

2 memorials

Lord Thomas Babington Macaulay

Historian, essayist, poet. Born Leicestershire but brought up in the Clapham home. Spent four years (1834 - 8) as an administrator in India, during which he showed little interest in Indian cultu...

Person, History, Poetry, Politics & Administration, India

4 memorials

Joseph Brodsky

Russian-American poet and essayist. US Nobel Prize Laureate. Born Leningrad. Exiled from the Soviet Union in 1972, he settled in the USA, aided by W. H. Auden and others. There he taught and was ap...

Person, Poetry, Russia, USA

1 memorial

A. E. Housman

Alfred Edward Housman. Born near Bromsgrove in Worcestershire. Classical scholar, lyrical poet. On his twelfth birthday his mother died. He initially failed his degree at Oxford but went on to be a...

Person, Poetry

2 memorials

Previously viewed

Royal Society of Medicine

Group, Medicine

1 memorial

Lissenden Gardens Tenants Association

When we first researched this area in 2008 there were three plaques erected by the LGTA; others were erected later so we had to go back. The first three plaques all end with the text "Awards for ...

Group, Community / Clubs

6 memorials

London Bridge

Four stone bridges have spanned the Thames at this point. The first was built in about 1210 and lasted right through the medieval period. This was the one that had the spikes and is shown in some d...

Building, Transport, USA

25 memorials

Councillor Mary Kathleen Neuner

Mayor of Haringey 1990-1 and 2001-2. Labour councillor 1986 -2002. Honoured with the Freedom of the Borough in 2003. As Mary Kathleen Morfill she married Frederick Neuner (1919-1995) in the 1st qu...

Person, Politics & Administration

1 memorial

Edward de Vere

17th Earl of Oxford. Possibly born at Castle Hedingham, Essex. He wrote poetry and was a court favourite. Since the 1920s, he has been among the alternative candidates for the authorship of Shakes...

Person, Poetry

2 memorials