A rare calm period in the often stormy life of French poet Paul Verlaine (1844-1896) was the 15 months he spent in Lincolnshire (1875-6), teaching in Stickney and then living in Boston. The talk will discuss the circumstances which led this already admired poet to the Lincolnshire fens, his life and relationships there and the effect they had on his subsequent poetry and remaining years in France. There may also be a short interlude or two from the music his poetry inspired in composers such as Debussy and Fauré.