Twenty Prose Poems

These twenty pieces were written over a number of years and published separately in various periodicals. They don't form a sequence or have any relation to one another, and actually form part of a larger collection of around 50.
The term "prose poem" is not necessarily the best term for these works because its meaning is rather vague, however a more informative phrase would perhaps fail to capture whatever similarity these various short works have in common.
That is the ability to make a point, and to render in the reader a poetic state of mind. Of course, this can often be achieved as well by a scenic view, a good novel, an artwork, or an everyday encounter, as it can by a "prose poem", but these works do fill these requirements too and show more are written in prose so we can leave it that.
The topics of the different pieces are various, and being so show us many different emotional and aesthetic facets of the author's character, personality, and tastes.
These are probably best read one or two at a time, with space for reflection. It is therefore a good book for dipping into during brief available moments, and does not require a lot of effort on behalf of the reader.
This volume, published by "City Lights" press also contains side by side the original French, with the English translation, which would be excellent for the reader of French, the new student, or simply the curious reader. At only 79 pages including a 7 page introduction, and parallel language texts, it can be appreciated that most works are between one and two pages.
As an introduction to Baudelaire this is great, and I would recommend its literary quality and ease of reading.
If I was looking to compare this to works by an other author, there are many similarities here to the shorter of Virginia Woolf's works which capture a similar aesthetic/moral sensibility and impressionistic regard for the everyday event. However Baudelaire tends toward the more flamboyant, and to an epigrammatic certainty found often in Nietzsche's collections of aphorisms. show less

O estilo altamente original de poesia em prosa de Baudelaire influenciou toda uma geração de poetas, incluindo Paul Verlaine, Arthur Rimbaud e Stéphane Mallarmé, entre muitos outros. Acredita-se que ele cunhou o termo "modernidade" para designar a experiência fugaz e efêmera da vida em uma metrópole urbana e a responsabilidade que a arte tem de capturar essa experiência. “Quem entre nós não sonhou, em momentos de ambição, o milagre de uma prosa poética, musical sem ritmo nem rima, flexível e staccato o suficiente para se adaptar aos movimentos líricos da alma, às ondulações dos sonhos e aos súbitos saltos de alma e da consciência?¨T indaga o grande poeta.