Originally Posted by Ibrahim (Post 132649)

Stretching the 'weird' description somewhat, though not much, as it is arguable that the symbolists and decadents were proto-weird in many ways- i'd say Rimbaud.

Abandoning poetry at age 21 (having completed what would become some of the century's most influential bodies of work) to explore Europe on foot, serve in and desert the army in indonesia, run a notoriously difficult trading post in Africa, try and amass a fortune selling guns to the king of Ethiopia, then return to France quietly, unheralded, only to die, still young , a convert (by some accounts) to Islam.