Initially composed for newspaper publication and inspired by Thomas De Quincey's Confessions of an Opium Eater, Baudelaire's musings on wine and hashish provide acute - and fascinating - psychological insight into the mind of the addict. On Wine and Hashish asserts the ambivalence of memory, urging a union of willpower and sensual pleasure as Baudelaire claims that wine and hashish bring about an escape of narrative time. This characteristic theme anticipates his famous prose poems, 'Le Spleen de Paris', in which drunkenness - as provided by wine, poetry, or virtue - is celebrated in remarkable style.
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Reading Baudelaire's visionary poetics of intoxication, you can only conclude that the stuff was more potent in those days. -- Time Out, September 18-25, 2002
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New Translation of a key work by one of the most famour French poets
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Room For A View
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
Hesperus Press publishes a range of interesting, lesser-known titles by respected writers. And this is another example. This edition offers two `essays', the first providing a few pages on wine and it's joys followed by an equally brief section on hashish; and, the lengthier second article (The Poem of Hashish) is purely concerned with `weed': how to take it, how it's made, what it does, when not to do it etc. A nice translation captures the humour of some passages, particularly Baudelaire's accounts of individual experiences. I felt the book was an absorbing insight into 19th century drug culture including the ambiguity of the writer's personal views. Baudelaire dramatically describes the effects of hashish intoxication, ranging from the torture of profound anxiety to a meditative state of heightened benevolence and pleasantly enhanced sensory awareness.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.7 out of 5 stars
6 reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Essential Background
15 Oct 2004
By W. Chamberlain
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
Essential background reading for anyone at all interested in Baudelaire - after all, one of his fondest sayings was 'Enivrez-vous!' - 'Get drunk!', and he often celebrated intoxicated states in remarkable style. Although he is not to be side-lined as a writer whose whole scope consists of these intoxicated states - there was a recent biography which put forward the case that his whole significance as a writer was that of a drug-addict - these states do form an integral part of, as it were 'Baudelaire-land', and it is essential to understand them in order to understand Baudelaire as a poet and thinker. Here, in an attractive hesperus volume, we have him writing directly about intoxicated states, in a fascinating insight into the workings of his mind, his time in Paris, and his attitudes towards alcohol and drugs. Well worth buying.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Gastric Memoir
10 Sep 2004
By Tory
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
Think of this short piece more as a culinary review than a work of philosophy or fiction or even memoir. Baudelaire speaks to the pros and cons of both Wine and Hashish as well as the impact of both on the body. In addition, he dabbles in satire and social insight, giving the reader a wonderful view of his life, opinions and experiences.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
a surprising glimpse
16 Aug 2009
By Lust4Senseo
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
I was surprised at Baudelaire's more conservative views in this book .
I had prior considered him to be all for intoxication and inebriation , thus his famous line "Envirez-vous" that he was known for shouting at the top of his lungs when he'd be having absinthe in the Paris cafes ...
He especially writes against hashish which he felt warped and distorted peoples' minds .
His attitude was certainly influenced by the times he lived in as are some folks' attitudes about similar subjects in current times ...
A must for the Baudelaire devotee such as myself .
I had prior considered him to be all for intoxication and inebriation , thus his famous line "Envirez-vous" that he was known for shouting at the top of his lungs when he'd be having absinthe in the Paris cafes ...
He especially writes against hashish which he felt warped and distorted peoples' minds .
His attitude was certainly influenced by the times he lived in as are some folks' attitudes about similar subjects in current times ...
A must for the Baudelaire devotee such as myself .
›
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4.7 out of 5 stars
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