The collection that "Hymn to Beauty" comes from, Les Fleurs du Mal, overcame a rocky start to become one of the most recognized and influential books of poetry ever written. When it was first published in 1857, Baudelaire and his publisher were sued for indecency. Each had to pay fines. Worse, however, was the fact that reviewers were frightened away from offering positive reviews. As A. E. Carter explained it, this was a catastrophe that can hardly be understood in the modern age of marketing. "In 1857 the uses of publicity were not properly understood: instead of profiting by the lawsuit, Baudelaire's career suffered an undeniable setback. Poetry is seldom an easy article to market, especially poetry like his, and now publishers had a sound excuse for turning down his manuscripts. Not until twenty or thirty.....
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