first printing to Marc Barbezat, publisher of the literary journal L'Arbalete, who published the book in 1944 and again in 1948. Genet revised the novel when it was published by Gallimard in 1951; the Gallimard edition omits some of the more pornographic passages in the novel. Later L'Arbalete editions include a number of smaller revisions. The novel is dedicated to the convicted and executed murderer Maurice Pilorge. Literary influence The novel was an enormous influence on the Beats, with its free-flowing, highly poetic language mixed with argot/slang, and its celebration of lowlifes and explicit descriptions of homosexuality. It is elegantly transgressive, and its self-reflexive nature prefigures the approach to language developed later by the post-structuralists. Jacques Derrida wrote on Genet in his book Glas, and Hélène Cixous celebrated his work as an example of écriture feminine. Jean-Paul Sartre wrote his famous Saint Genet as an analysis of Genet's work and life but most especially of Our Lady of the Flowers. Our Lady of the Flowers made Genet, in Sartre's mind at least, a poster child of existentialism and most especially an embodiment of that philosophy's views on freedom. Adaptations Lindsay Kemp created a production called 'Flowers - A pantomime for Jean Genet' (based on Our Lady of the Flowers by Jean Genet) in 1974 at the Bush Theatre, London, inspired by Genet's words "The saga of Divine should be danced or mimed". This production had evolved from earlier versions beginning in 1969 in Edinburgh. "Flowers" subsequently transferred to New York, Australia, Japan and all over Europe and South America... its last performance being in 1992 in Buenos Aires. In popular culture In Nigel Williams' Scenes from a Poisoner's Life (1994), the main protagonist gives Our Lady of the Flowers to his homosexual brother as a Christmas present. The performer, actor, and drag queen Divine was named after the main character of the book. Filmmaker John Waters gave her this nickname after reading Genet's novel. The Pogues have a song titled "Hell's Ditch," which contains references to the novel. Placebo's self-titled debut album features a song called "Lady Of The Flowers." Cocorosie's song "Beautiful Boyz" is believed to be about it. Sopor Aeternus & the Ensemble of Shadows' album Les Fleurs du Mal – Die Blumen des Bösen was greatly inspired by the book. Pete Doherty used a quote from the book in his song, "Last Of The English Roses." Primal