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Flowers of Evil: A Selection
Flowers of Evil: A Selection | Charles Baudelaire
Baudelaire's Fleurs du Mal, which in successive editions contained all of his published poems, has opened new vistas for man's imagination and quickened the sensibilities of poets everywhere. The greatest French poet of the 19th century, Baudelaire was also the first truly modem poet, and his direct and indirect influence on the literature of our time has been immeasurable. Flowers of Evil: A Selection contains 53 poems which the editors feel best represent the total work and which. in their opinion, have been most successfully rendered into English. The French texts as established by Yves Grard Le Dantec for the Pliade edition are printed en face. Included are Baudelaire's "Three Drafts of a Preface" and brief notes on the nineteen translators whose work is represented.
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Leftcoastzen
Les Fleurs Du Mal | Richard Howard, Charles Baudelaire
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Feeling very Spleen II tonight.Richard Howard‘s translation of Charles Baudelaire. (Chuck‘s Greatest Hits! )

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TheKidUpstairs
Les Fleurs Du Mal | Charles P Baudelaire
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#OnThisDay in 1857 Charles Baudelaire's Les Fleurs du Mal was published in France. The volume included almost all of Baudelaire's poetry, and ignited controversy due to its themes of decadence and eroticism. Six of the poems were censored, and were not allowed to be published again until 1949, and Baudelaire was fined 300 francs. Victor Hugo described the work as a "new thrill in literature." #HistoryGetsLIT

vivastory You should publish these once you have accumulated a year's worth of material 📚👏 2y
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vivastory
Les Fleurs Du Mal | Richard Howard, Charles Baudelaire
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#NationalPoetryMonth Day 20: It is no exaggeration when I say that I could post a favorite poem daily for a month by exclusively French language authors. Baudelaire was one of my first loves when it comes to poetry, via Richard Howard's impeccable translations. He was one of the first to tackle the alienation & the malaise of modern life. He was roughly 70 years ahead of T.S. Eliot. Link to full poem:
https://poets.org/poem/spleen

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DGRachel
The Flowers of Evil | Charles Baudelaire, James N McGowan
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Every time a book is featured on one of the Turkish Dizis that I watch, I feel compelled to purchase and read said book. This one made a brief appearance on Monday‘s episode of Çukur so naturally I had to buy it right away. ??

Reggie My mom watches these Spanish novelas that are actually Turkish soap operas dubbed in Spanish. And then her and my dad were hooked on this Turkish drama called Intergol that was something like 400 episodes. (edited) 3y
DGRachel @Reggie That‘s amazing! I watch them with English subtitles. My favorite is still running and is currently at 120 or so 2+ hour episodes. I‘m going to be devastated when it ends. 😂 3y
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Lcsmcat
Les Fleurs Du Mal | Charles P Baudelaire
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TheSpineView Perfect choice! ❤ 3y
25 likes1 comment
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fandom_hellspawn99
Les Fleurs Du Mal | Richard Howard, Charles Baudelaire
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1.) Les Fleurs du Mal

2.) Y: The Last Man; Vol. 1: Unmanned

3.) The Glamourist

#Goodbye2020 @ShyBookOwl

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fandom_hellspawn99
Les Fleurs Du Mal | Richard Howard, Charles Baudelaire
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Pickpick

So now this is not everyone's cup of tea, but for me personally I enjoyed this. Someone once described this as an insult that it sounded like an edgy brooding teenage boy and honestly I don't mind it and maybe that's what made me like it, I don't know 😂. 3.5/5🌟

I'm going to put this as my B for Author's last name (Baudelaire) #LitsyAtoZ #ReadingChallenge @BookishMarginalia

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Bookwomble
The Flowers of Evil | Charles Baudelaire, James N McGowan
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Baudelaire‘s unknown extra verse to erotic poem revealed:

"The lines, which come after a verse in which Baudelaire‘s naked lover is seen only in the light of the hearth, translate as:
And I was full then of this Truth:
That the greatest treasure reserved by God for the Genius
Is to know profoundly earthly Beauty
So that from there can spring forth Rhythm and harmony.”

Baudelaire wrote the extra verse to The Jewels in the margin of a 1st edition

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mspixieears
Les Fleurs Du Mal | Charles P Baudelaire
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I‘m never going to finish this, honestly, but I bloody well have been trying for years! (ouais, en français!)

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Gina
The Flowers of Evil | Charles Baudelaire, James N McGowan
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Oh myyy Charles Baudelaire...

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Adventures-of-a-French-Reader
Flowers of Evil | Charles Baudelaire
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Pickpick

If you want to read French poetry, Baudelaire's Flowers of Evil is a classic that is quite easy to read, but still will leave you in awe; Baudelaire's poems are beautiful even when he's describing the most disgusting scenes. Some of his poems made me smile, some made me sad, some were so beautiful that no words would do them justice. Reading tip: you'll need to be alone in a cosy and quiet environment. Please read them out loud.

zezeki I love this collection too. 😊 5y
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Wolfe
Les Fleurs Du Mal | Charles P Baudelaire
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Que nous veulent les lois du juste et de l'injuste?
Vierges au cœur sublime, honneur de l'archipel,
Votre religion comme une autre est auguste,
Et l'amour se rira de l'Enfer et du Ciel!
Que nous veulent les lois du juste et de l'injuste?

#lgbt #sappho #sapphic #lesbian #wlw #gay #loveislove #pride #love #poem

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Bookwomble
The Flowers of Evil | Charles Baudelaire, James N McGowan
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Pickpick

This wasn't the pit of debauchery I'd half expected from its reputation. Which isn't to say there aren't some shocking images ("The Carcass" comes to mind), but times have moved on. It's an interesting reflection that poems explicitly about necrophilia weren't banned upon publication, but those about, or even hinting at, lesbianism were. A man's pleasures were seemingly more acceptable, however depraved. A slightly unsettling 5/5 ?

Leftcoastzen I love him so! 6y
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Bookwomble
The Flowers of Evil | Charles Baudelaire, James N McGowan
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Who in the face of love dares speak to me of Hell!

- "Condemned Women: Delphine and Hippolyta"

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Bookwomble
The Flowers of Evil | Charles Baudelaire, James N McGowan
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I've finished "Spleen and the Ideal", moved into "Parisian Scenes", and while I'm loving Baudelaire, I think I need a little break before proceeding. So - To the library!! ???‍♂️

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Bookwomble
The Flowers of Evil | Charles Baudelaire, James N McGowan
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As for your other charms,
Let your resistant arms
Frustrate with blows
The groping rogues

- "To a Red-Haired Beggar Girl"

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Bookwomble
The Flowers of Evil | Charles Baudelaire, James N McGowan
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Or poking through a house, in closets shut for years,
Full of the scent of time - acrid, musky, dank,
One comes, perhaps, upon a flask of memories
In whose escaping scent a soul returns to life.

- "The Flask"

Tiyas7 Which Poem Is This One?? 6y
Bookwomble @Tiyas7 Whoops! I'd labelled it as "Poison" when it's actually "The Flask" ("Le Flacon" in the original French). 6y
Tiyas7 @Bookwomble Exactly!! That's why I was having trouble finding it, in the book😅 6y
Bookwomble @Tiyas7 "Poison" is the following poem - I must have absent- mindedly turned the page. ? 6y
Tiyas7 @Bookwomble Happens I Guess😉 6y
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Bookwomble
The Flowers of Evil | Charles Baudelaire, James N McGowan
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Angel of beauty, do you know of wrinkles,
Fear of growing old, the great torment
To read the horror of self-sacrifice
In eyes our avid eyes had drunk for years?
Angel of beauty, do you know these lines?

- "Reversability"

Tiyas7 The Quote 's just breathtaking ✌ 6y
Bookwomble @Tiyas7 I'm enjoying Baudelaire. 6y
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Bookwomble
The Flowers of Evil | Charles Baudelaire, James N McGowan
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Late night, and like a medal in the sky
The harvest moon was beaming down,
And, like a river, the solemnity
Of night arranged on the sleeping town.

- "Confession”

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Bookwomble
The Flowers of Evil | Charles Baudelaire, James N McGowan
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Beauty, you walk on corpses, mocking them;
Horror is as charming as your other gems,
And Murder is a trinket dancing there
Lovingly on your naked belly's skin.

-"Hymn to Beauty"

Original Photo Caption: "Shoes Real Rabbit Fur"

DivineDiana These photos and words perfectly capture the dichotomy of the fashion industry. 🙁 6y
Bookwomble @DivineDiana Agreed. If Baudelaire had added something about indentured children in Third World countries slaving away for a pittance to make them, it'd be an even more apposite comment on the fashion industry (I emphasise the word "industry" ). 6y
TheBookKeeper Brilliant!! 6y
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Bookwomble @TheBookKeeper Although Baudelaire isn't commenting on the fashion industry or animal rights, the connection leapt into my mind. Great literature is universal and transcends the bounds of its creator and their times. 6y
TheBookKeeper @Bookwomble I completely agree. His message was vast and powerful and your picture captured it. I've not read it but I'm going to now. 6y
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Bookwomble
The Flowers of Evil | Charles Baudelaire, James N McGowan
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When I was young I lived a constant storm,
Though now and then the brilliant suns shot through,
So in my garden few red fruits were born,
The rain and thunder had so much to do.

- "The Enemy"

arubabookwoman Love the painting. Do you know who it is by? 6y
Bookwomble @arubabookwoman It's atmospheric, isn't it? It's by Maurice de Vlaminck, "The Chestnut Grove at Chatou". https://www.wikiart.org/en/maurice-de-vlaminck/the-chestnut-grove-at-chatou 6y
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Bookwomble
The Flowers of Evil | Charles Baudelaire, James N McGowan
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Baudelaire gives composer Carl Maria von Weber as one of his Beacons:
"Under a gloomy sky, strange fanfares pass away
And disappear, like one of Weber's smothered sighs;"

So, I've download a Weber playlist to see how his work fits - possibly not very well, as Baudelaire is holding him up as an example of artistic purity, while the concern of the poems is, perhaps, with mundane degradation. Maybe a hint of discovering gold dust in the filth?

Bookwomble Weber is far too light and uplifting for this book! I've enjoyed listening to him, though, so silver linings... 6y
11 likes1 comment
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Bookwomble
The Flowers of Evil | Charles Baudelaire, James N McGowan
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While reading, I often like to listen to music that is relevant to the book, or evocative of its content and themes. The obvious choice for me for this book is the Dead Can Dance album "Spleen and Ideal", which takes its title from Baudelaire. If anybody has other musical suggestions for this book, I'd be interested to receive recommendations ☺ ?+? #booksandmusic

DivineDiana What a splendid ritual! 📚🎼👏🏻 6y
Bookwomble @DivineDiana I have some specific book/music connections simply because of what I was into listening at the time I read the book. Frank Herbert's Dune and David Bowie's Young Americans are an unlikely combination, but they're ineluctably linked in my mind. 6y
DivineDiana I like the way you think! 6y
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Bookwomble
The Flowers of Evil | Charles Baudelaire, James N McGowan
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A #twobookmark book - main text and notes 🔖🔖
Another solution is to fold a single bookmark around the top of the book, but it's a jury-rigged system at best.

Aimeesue I'm an uncoordinated bumbler, so I have to use a post-it flag as the back bookmark for notes or it'd be falling out and getting lost all the time. 😋 6y
Bookwomble @Aimeesue I've used sticky tabs in the past, too, but I have so many bookmarks I feel compelled to use them as justification for buying them. 6y
Aimeesue @Bookwomble Ha! I never buy bookmarks! I'm totally unreliable in the bookmark-keeping department.😂 6y
Bookwomble @Aimeesue Ha, ha! I consider myself duly warned of the peril of letting you near my collection 😃 (it's more of a boxed midden heap, actually!) 6y
Aimeesue @Bookwomble 😂😂😂 6y
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Emilymdxn
The Flowers of Evil | Charles Baudelaire, James N McGowan
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I can‘t even believe how gorgeous this book is, I‘m so excited #poetry

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ShawnaHunter
Flowers of Evil: A Selection | Charles Baudelaire
Pickpick

This is a series of poems that beautifully describe smoke from a fire, lovingly recount finding a bloated corpse and make a prayer to Satan.

A truly odd masterpiece.

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Lcsmcat
Les Fleurs Du Mal | Charles P Baudelaire
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We got it hung! It looks uneven on the bottom, but it‘s because it‘s still hanging out the wrinkles. The smaller Cluny reproduction is on the wall opposite our bed.

vivastory This is amazing 6y
Lcsmcat @vivastory I can‘t believe we found it in a little second hand shop in Wake Forest, and for less than the cost of the rod we got to hang it. 6y
vivastory I love Baudelaire, that's a great find! 6y
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SandyW It looks even better hanging! 6y
Lcsmcat @SandyW Thanks! I‘m glad we got it up with no mishaps! The ladder needed to reach up there is really tall! 6y
ofbooksandme Oh my God! That replica of The Lady and the Unicorn is so beautiful! Not only like the one on Cluny, but you can also say it's like the one on the Griffyndor common room 6y
ReadingRuby They look amazing! 6y
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Lcsmcat
Les Fleurs Du Mal | Charles P Baudelaire
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We went antiquing today and found this (giant!) tapestry with the entire poem Correspondances from Les Fleurs du Mal embroidered on it. It matches the colors on the Cluny reproduction on our other wall, so I had to bring it home. #Baudelaire #frenchlittens

Redwritinghood 😍😍 6y
SandyW Lovely! What a find! 6y
batsy 😍 Wow, stunning 6y
55 likes3 comments
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Libby1
Les Fleurs Du Mal | Charles P Baudelaire
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Mehso-so

Misery. Woe. Graves. Shining eyes. Tears. Trembling. Sunsets. Quivering. Death. More death. Even more death. Snails.

Yes, snails. 🐌

I can understand why this is an iconic collection of poetry. It is unlike anything I‘ve ever read. Waves of emotional turmoil and unhealthy obsessions crash into as you read it. I can understand why some people would LOVE it.

But was it a Pick for me?

Non, sil vous plais.

But I DID like the snails. 💚🐌💚

Libby1 As always, thank you for the opportunity to read this @SerialReader . I sing your praises to all and sundry! 6y
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batsy
The Flowers of Evil | Charles Baudelaire, James N McGowan
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#winter #QuotsyDec17 @TK-421

Painting: Winter Landscape by Louis Douzette (1869)

The original in French and a few variations of the translation of the poem "Paysage" ("Landscape") available here https://fleursdumal.org/poem/219

Cathythoughts Magic ✨✨✨ 6y
batsy Isn't it, @Cathythoughts ! I wish I was in a tiny (well-heated 😁) cottage in the quiet wintry French countryside with Baudelaire (in book form 😉) 6y
Centique That is beautiful! I love the rhythm of it 😍 6y
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batsy @Centique Right? I read some of his poems awhile back but now feel the itch to own this volume 😆 6y
Lcsmcat Les fleurs du mal is on my list for 2018 #frenchlittens challenge. I can‘t wait. 6y
batsy @Lcsmcat Nice! I'm sure it will be electrifying to read it in the original language 🙌 6y
Leftcoastzen Will always love Baudelaire! 6y
TK-421 Beautiful! 6y
Centique @batsy I feel ya! I‘m going to have to read some more too. I‘ve heard his name often but never read any before 🤭 6y
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mspixieears
Les Fleurs Du Mal | Charles P Baudelaire
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When poets research! Rereading 'Harmonie du soir' to discover it's a pantoum, which originated from Malayan 'pantun'.

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LeahBergen
Flowers of Evil | Charles Baudelaire
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A view of my #poetry shelf. 🙂
#Riotgrams

kspenmoll Beautiful & impressive 😃📚❤️ 6y
vivastory Stunning 6y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks I love seeing your beautiful books!! ❤️ 6y
See All 35 Comments
Palimpsest Wonderful selection of poets and such beautiful books 6y
StaceyKondla Very pretty ❤️ 6y
Libby1 🤤 That‘s me drooling. 6y
ValerieAndBooks 😍😍 6y
rubyslippersreads 😍📚😍 6y
JulAnna Beautiful! 6y
batsy Just gorgeous! Are these collected editions by one publisher? 6y
erzascarletbookgasm So beautiful! Who are your favourite poets? 🙂 6y
Izai.Amorim Beautiful! 6y
Kalalalatja 😍😍😍 *heart flutters* 6y
LeahBergen @kspenmoll Thanks! 😘 6y
LeahBergen @vivastory Thank you! 😘 6y
LeahBergen @Palimpsest Thank you! 😘 6y
LeahBergen @StaceyKondla Thanks! 😘 6y
LeahBergen @Libby1 😂 Thank you! 6y
LeahBergen @JulAnna Thanks! 😘 6y
LeahBergen @batsy Thanks! These are done by Easton Press. 6y
LeahBergen @erzascarletbookgasm Hmm... I think Emily Dickinson and Pablo Neruda? Sylvia Plath? That's a hard question. 😆 6y
LeahBergen @Izai.Amorim Thanks! 😘 6y
Cathythoughts Very pretty indeed 6y
RohitSawant 😍😍 6y
LauraBeth So pretty! 6y
TrishB Lovely 💜 6y
LeahBergen @Cathythoughts Thank you! 😘 6y
LeahBergen @rohit-sawant Thanks! 😘 6y
LeahBergen @TrishB Thanks! 😘 6y
DeborahSmall Love Keats and Donne 💕 6y
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eclecticreading
The Flowers of Evil | Charles Baudelaire, James N McGowan
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Starting off my birthday by reading poetry ❤️ #currentlyreading

LeahBergen Happy Birthday!! 📚📚📚 6y
Libby1 Happy birthday! 6y
15 likes3 comments
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Booksgatesonworlds
Les Fleurs Du Mal | Charles P Baudelaire
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Eliane
Les Fleurs Du Mal | Charles P Baudelaire
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DaniRa
The Flowers of Evil | Charles Baudelaire, James N McGowan
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❤️🌹#riotgrams #favoritequote 🌹❤

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MLRio
The Flowers of Evil | Charles Baudelaire, James N McGowan
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Baudelaire knows what's important 🍷 #wine #poetry

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MLRio
The Flowers of Evil | Charles Baudelaire, James N McGowan
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DaniRa
The Flowers of Evil | Charles Baudelaire, James N McGowan
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#seasonsreadings2016 #poetry so I haven't had any books from the last few days of seasonsreadings but here are the 4 poetry books I own. I'm not into poetry but these ones have touched me in someway. Shel Silverstein was one who stayed with me since childhood and The Flowers of Evil is one I am still reading (have been for well over a year) but I only go to it for one or two at a time and read them slow so as to let them absorb. ❤️

JoeStalksBeck ❤️❤️❤️❤️🎶🎶❤️❤️ 7y
BilboBookends ❤️❤️❤️ 7y
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Lavieest1roman
Les Fleurs Du Mal | Charles P Baudelaire
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👌🏻😊

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JessClark78
The Flowers of Evil | Charles Baudelaire, James N McGowan
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This is the only book with text #notinenglish that I own. It presents a selection of Baudelaire's poems in French alongside their English translations.
#seasonsreadings2016 @RealLifeReading

quirkyreader This is the edition I read when I was first introduced to his poetry. 7y
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