How a poet's life impacts their work

For my presentation I have been studying Arthur Rimbaud and Gary Snyder.  While Rimbaud only wrote for a few short years, Snyder's career has expanded his whole life.  Both poets were raised primarily by their mothers, but Rimbaud's mother enforced a strict devotion to Catholicism.  Snyder began to write as he traveled around the world as a seaman on trading ships.  When Rimbaud began his traveling career, he had long since abandoned poetry.

Both poets, in their own right, were very influential.  Obviously, poets' works are strongly influenced by their lives, but do they base experiences on what it will do for their work or work based on the randomness of their experiences?  For Snyder, it was the first.  He took jobs in the logging industry and visited Reservations to get a feel for naturalism and Zen.  This connection is apparent in his work, particularly in one of his earlier works "The Back Country."  Snyder writes with a certain fascination of the world.

Rimbaud's poetry, particularly his most famous piece "A Season in Hell" is reflective of the time he spent in Paris with his mentor/lover Paul Verlaine. Another poem "Hellish Night" could have been written as a reaction to that tumultuous affair.

Rimbaud's work reflects his experiences, while Snyder has experiences to reflect his work.