Sometime in the early 90’s I found a used copy of the 1929 edition of “Fleurs du Mal” by Charles Baudelaire. Translated by C. Bower Alcock, the illustrations were by Beresford Egan, who had a bit of an erotic art déco vibe to his style.
Title page for Fleurs Du Mal by Baudelaire, translated by C. Bower Alcock. Sophistocles Press and T. Werner Laurie, 1929.
I was lost in the beauty and decadence of the language and the illustrations were, are, sublime. I was so taken aback by this book, that I nicked the title of it for a poem, which was basically me putting up a brave front against the world: “I am a flower of evil, and those that touch me…die!” In retrospect, I can see the false bravado, but it later became an effective song (?) for my band the Dark Young. The recording of which will finally become available on a follow-up to our 1994 debut album. More on that later.
Upon completing “Hell-Flower”, I decided to read them both at the next open mic I was to attend, which as luck would have it, is tonight, and here in all its petulant glory, is “Flower of Evil”…
On the tree of life, I am but a biter fruit
Acrid to the palate, and overwhelming to the senses
In the garden of society, I am a blight
Not even the very worms of the earth dare partake of my flesh
A vampiric weed, I suck the life from my peers
I shun the light of day, and grow hatefully in the dark
Although I am alone, no wallflower am I
I am a flower of evil, and those that touch me…die!
“Flower of Evil” illustration, 1992, by yours truly.
Update 11/25/2017: I took my friend Galad’s advice and gave a listen to Yvette Mimieux’s recording of Cyril Scott’s 1909 English translation of Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs du Mal, featuring the music of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. What a great performance of a great translation! As I have said elsewhere, sublime would be an understatement! It is available on Youtube if one is curious and I have seen it for sale on Amazon.
Baudelaire’s Flowers of Evil (Les Fleurs du Mal) by Yvette Mimeux & Ustad Ali Akbar Khan (1968, Connoisseur Society).
manny's book of shadows 