Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867) is known primarily for his collection of poetry "Les Fleurs du Mal" (The Flowers of Evil). This collection was originally published in 1857, with six poems suppressed. Still he was attacked by the press for the publication. Baudelaire said, "Some have told me that these poems might do harm; I have not rejoiced at that. Other good souls, that they might do some good; and that has given me no regret. I was equally surprised at what the former feared and what the latter hoped."

I have a translation of Les Fleurs Du Mal with a variety of translaters. I had begun to enter some of the poems from the collection that were translated long enough ago to be in the public domain. Since I don't know French, and am unwilling to violate copyright laws, this was the best I could do. And then I discovered someone else who did know French, as well as English, had recently spent five years translating the work, and had put the end results on the web.

Not knowing French I have no idea what quality the translation is. However, similarly, I had no way to judge the quality of the translations I had been entering. I link to the translation below. If you'd like me to continue entering the other translations, please email me and let me know. Otherwise I will focus on other items.