“Sometimes I see in the sky endless beaches covered with white joyous nations. A huge golden vessel, above me, waves its multicolored flags in the morning wind. I have created all celebrations, all triumphs, all dramas. I have tried to invent new flowers, new stars, new flesh, new tongues.”

—Arthur Rimbaud; Pierre Petitfils, Rimbaud, translated by Alan Sheridan, 1987.