Rimbaud, Arthur

French author born in the industrial city of Charleville near the Belgian border. Rimbaud was the youngest son of an army officer with literary aspirations who was often stationed away from home. In 1858, when his youngest son was four years old, he abandoned his family for good. Rimbaud's mother (he called her La Mother) inherited the family farm in Flanders to which Rimbaud would often return after his travels.