Arthur Rimbaud was born in Charleville on October 20, 1854. He spent his childhood in this city which then had fewer than 10,000 inhabitants.Second of a family of four children educated by their mother, Vitale Cuif, from the small village of Roche, near Attigny. She had come to settle at Charleville, where she had met Captain Frederic Rimbaud, who garrisoned military campaigns and made only brief visits to Charleville; he did not return after the birth of his four children, and their youth is then marked by the father's absence.Bright student, Arthur is the glory of his college by winning a number of first prizes. He will know the war in July 1870 with its train of destruction, especially in Mezieres, where his best friend Ernest Delahaye lives. In the spring of 1871, he learned with enthusiasm the establishment of the Commune in Paris: "The order is defeated!" he says to Charleville. Parallel to this social upheaval, Rimbaud establishes his poetic objectives and two famous letters, the letters of the "seer" addressed to Georges Izambard and Paul Demeny in May 1871, show the path he wishes to pursue. His desire for literary fame is great and he seeks to be known in Paris circles: he surprises and convinces at 17 with the "drunk boat" in September 1871. His fugues, his stays in Paris, London or Brussels, his affair with Paul Verlaine mark the years 1872-1875, years when he wrote "A season in hell" and the "Illuminations". Charleville, its surroundings and the small village of Roche have thus played a great role in the life of teenager Rimbaud and poet since it is in these landscapes that his poetic work has matured. But as early as 1875, Rimbaud was already moving away from literary creation. At 20, he turned his back on poetry.Successions followed then through Europe: in 1875, Stuttgart, Milan and Genoa; in 1876, Vienna, Holland and then his engagement in the Dutch army which leads him to Batavia; and, at the end of the same year, we see him again at Charleville. In 1877 and 1878, he resumed his journey and went to Cyprus where he worked for a few months. Begins then the African epic of 1880 to 1891 during which it is used in commercial companies; these eleven years are punctuated by an abundant correspondence with his family in Charleville and Roche. In the eyes of his compatriots, Rimbaud became an explorer and the monument which was raised in 1901 on the square of Charleville station celebrates both the explorer and the poet. Died in Marseille at the age of 37 years on November 10, 1891, Rimbaud is buried in the cemetery of Charleville where we can see his tomb in white marble.