In the heart of Ethiopia's ancient walled city of Harar, more than 500 kilometres east of Addis Ababa, stands a museum dedicated to Arthur Rimbaud. It offers visitors the chance to discover a little-known period in the brief life of the French poet, who spent most of his final 10 years in East Africa.
Leaving the hustle and bustle of a street lined with tailors' shops and turning down a narrow alleyway, visitors arrive at one of the traditional wooden townhouses for which Harar is famous.
Since 2000, it has housed the Rimbaud Museum. However, the famed poet, who lived in Harar on and off from 1880 to 1891, never actually resided in the building.
"This house belonged to an Indian merchant," explains Abdulnasir Garad, the museum’s director. According to its research, Rimbaud lived first in a building belonging to the governor of Harar and then in a smaller Hariri house.
He was 26 when he arrived in the trading town, employed as an agent for a French coffee exporter based in Aden, Yemen. By the time he left, he was suffering from the bone cancer that would kill him within the year.
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A shared history
Up a wooden staircase, visitors can find the photographs that Rimbaud took during his time in Ethiopia – then known as Abyssinia – as well as information about his life as a merchant, which he described in detail in letters to his family in France.
"There are so many stories in Harar that I didn’t know existed," says Meron, visiting with her family from Addis Ababa. "Who could have imagined that Arthur Rimbaud was in this little town here?"
"It’s also interesting to see that, even so long ago, there was already so much international trade."
The museum also traces Rimbaud's other ventures in Ethiopia, which included explorations in the east and south, and selling guns to King Menelik II – who would go on to become emperor.
Getachew, who has already visited the museum several times, says he continues to learn more about the poet.
"I didn’t know he’d written letters to Menelik, or that he’d also taken photographs. It’s impressive that he was able to preserve all that for the city, for the country."
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At the time, Rimbaud was one of only a handful of Europeans that had spent time in Harar.
"The people of Harar didn't think highly of Arthur Rimbaud – or of foreigners in general –because they believed he was a spy and that he had unusual relationships with young men," says Garad.
"But we need to share his story, by providing places where young people can come and discuss Rimbaud."
Suffering from a tumour in his right knee, the poet left Harar to seek treatment in France in the spring of 1891. He died there on 10 November 1891, shortly after his 37th birthday.
On his deathbed in Marseille, he dictated a letter asking to board a ship that would take him back to Ethiopia.
This article was adapted from a podcast in French produced by RFI correspondent Marlène Panara.
