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The Continual Pilgrimage: American Writers in Paris 1944-1960: American Writers in Paris, 1944-60 - Hardcover
Richard Wright, James Baldwin, William Styron, James Jones, Chester Himes, George Plimpton, John Ashbery, Susan Sontag, and the Beats were among those who flocked to Paris during the second great wave of American pilgrimage. Sawyer-Laucanno presents a biographical/historical portrait of the friendships and associations they formed, the cross-cultural influences they occasioned, what they discovered, and what they brought back. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.
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From the Back Cover:
Between 1944 and 1960 a second great wave of American writers took up residence in Paris, seeking the artistically charged atmosphere so pervasive during the Jazz Age. While much has been written about the Lost Generation between the wars, little attention has been paid to their postwar successors as a group. And yet, what a dazzling array of talent was present in Paris during this period! Richard Wright, James Baldwin, William Styron, James Jones, Chester Himes, George Plimpton, John Ashbery, Harry Mathews, Allen Ginsberg, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Alexander Trocchi, and William Burroughs are among those who flocked to Paris and who flourished through the experience. Indeed, many of these literary wanderers and expatriates produced some of their most important and enduring poetry and fiction during these years, their collective efforts inspiring new creative directions for the second half of the century. The Continual Pilgrimage is a biographical/historical portrait of the friendships and associations they formed, the cross-cultural influences they occasioned, what they discovered, and what they brought back. Christopher Sawyer-Laucanno merges the Paris of glamorous legend with the sometimes starker reality they encountered into a highly entertaining and anecdotal account of writers following a dream and finding a vision.
From Kirkus Reviews:
Lively survey of American writers in Paris from the liberation in 1944 through 1960, ending with the invasion of the Beats. Sawyer-Lau‡anno (The Invisible Spectator, 1989's fine bio of Paul Bowles) opens with a bang as war-journalist Ernest Hemingway liberates the Ritz bar, steals future wife Mary Welsh from Pfc. Irwin Shaw, fences with Andr‚ Malraux about their war adventures, insults William Saroyan, lit-chats with J.D. Salinger, visits Picasso. Janet Flanner of The New Yorker writes movingly of Paris's returning POWs, forced laborers, and survivors of the concentration camps, and of the sobs, speechless anger, profound shock, and horror of the Parisians. Gertrude Stein gets off her grand likes and dislikes, peppered with anti-Semitic remarks, and tells new arrival Richard Wright that ``it is obvious that you and I are the only two geniuses of this era.'' Wright's is a chosen exile and he soon finds himself rejected in America, lauded in Europe. He's followed by fellow exiles James Baldwin and Chester Himes, and Baldwin sets out to slay Wright and become the leading black American writer. Dirty-books publisher Maurice Dirodias's Olympia Press gives a solid berth to Alexander Trocchi, Terry Southern, J.P. Donleavy, and Vladimir Nabokov. George Plimpton (his dirty book is turned down by Girodias) starts up The Paris Review with Harold (Doc) Humes, Peter Matthiessen, William Styron, Southern, Robert Bly, and Evan S. Connell, among other contributors. Sawyer- Lau‡anno calls the early history of The Paris Review ``in many ways the story of the Parisian expatriate literary community itself.'' Celebrated war-novelist James Jones is on hand, as are Harry Mathews, John Ashbery, and Susan Sontag, while Allen Ginsberg and William Burroughs hole up in a stinking, scummy, hideously decaying hotel to edit Naked Lunch. Intelligently done. Lively capsule histories lend zest to each writer's empowering Paris years. (Sixteen pages of b&w photographs- -not seen.) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
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- PublisherBloomsbury Publishing PLC
- Publication date1992
- ISBN 10 0747512566
- ISBN 13 9780747512561
- BindingHardcover
- Edition number1
- Number of pages240
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The Continual Pilgrimage
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The Continual Pilgrimage (Hardcover)
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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. Hardcover. The pilgrimage of American writers to Paris began with Henry James over a century ago, and has continued in waves ever since. This book is not concerned with the "lost generation" whose exploits between the wars have been extensively chronicled, although Ernest Hemingway and Gertrude Stein do still preside over the opening years of the period it covers. Post-liberation Paris was where James Baldwin sought refuge from America's racism and anti-homosexualism, and found his voice; where Irwin Shaw's hospitality mixed Hollywood celebrities with struggling writers; where Allen Ginsberg and Gregory Corso caroused through the night at the "Beat Hotel" and tried to imagine what William Burroughs could do with his chaotic "Naked Lunch". Others in search of artistic freedom included Richard Wright, William Styron, James Jones and Chester Hines. The era saw the rebirth of English-language publishing in Paris. The founders of "Merlin" magazine featured Samuel Beckett in every issue, and then, when they ran out of funds, joined forces with Maurice Girodias, whose press published not only their pseudonymous erotica but also the works of Nabakov, Beckett and Burroughs.Meanwhile George Plimpton and Peter Mathieson launched "The Paris Review", a buoyant and bustling enterprise that thrives to this day. Christopher Sawyer-Laucanno, the author of "An Invisible Spectator: a Biography of Paul Bowles", traces the unlikely alliances that developed in these years. He contrasts those artists who explored and drew on French modernism with those who remained staunchly and stubbornly American in Paris. He reflects the politics of changes times - the McCarthyism that flung free-thinkers from America into exile, and the Algerian conflict which caused black expatriates to question the sincerity of French racial tolerance. And he provides a record of the formative years that projected very diverse talents into literary prominence. The pilgrimage of American writers to Paris began with Henry James over a century ago, and has continued in waves ever since. This book covers the American writers in the opening years of the period. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780747512561
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The Continual Pilgrimage (Hardcover)
Published by
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, London
(1992)
ISBN 10: 0747512566
ISBN 13: 9780747512561
New
Hardcover
Quantity: 1
Seller:
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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. Hardcover. The pilgrimage of American writers to Paris began with Henry James over a century ago, and has continued in waves ever since. This book is not concerned with the "lost generation" whose exploits between the wars have been extensively chronicled, although Ernest Hemingway and Gertrude Stein do still preside over the opening years of the period it covers. Post-liberation Paris was where James Baldwin sought refuge from America's racism and anti-homosexualism, and found his voice; where Irwin Shaw's hospitality mixed Hollywood celebrities with struggling writers; where Allen Ginsberg and Gregory Corso caroused through the night at the "Beat Hotel" and tried to imagine what William Burroughs could do with his chaotic "Naked Lunch". Others in search of artistic freedom included Richard Wright, William Styron, James Jones and Chester Hines. The era saw the rebirth of English-language publishing in Paris. The founders of "Merlin" magazine featured Samuel Beckett in every issue, and then, when they ran out of funds, joined forces with Maurice Girodias, whose press published not only their pseudonymous erotica but also the works of Nabakov, Beckett and Burroughs.Meanwhile George Plimpton and Peter Mathieson launched "The Paris Review", a buoyant and bustling enterprise that thrives to this day. Christopher Sawyer-Laucanno, the author of "An Invisible Spectator: a Biography of Paul Bowles", traces the unlikely alliances that developed in these years. He contrasts those artists who explored and drew on French modernism with those who remained staunchly and stubbornly American in Paris. He reflects the politics of changes times - the McCarthyism that flung free-thinkers from America into exile, and the Algerian conflict which caused black expatriates to question the sincerity of French racial tolerance. And he provides a record of the formative years that projected very diverse talents into literary prominence. The pilgrimage of American writers to Paris began with Henry James over a century ago, and has continued in waves ever since. This book covers the American writers in the opening years of the period. Shipping may be from our UK warehouse or from our Australian or US warehouses, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780747512561
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The Continual Pilgrimage (Hardcover)
Published by
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, London
(1992)
ISBN 10: 0747512566
ISBN 13: 9780747512561
New
Hardcover
Quantity: 1
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. Hardcover. The pilgrimage of American writers to Paris began with Henry James over a century ago, and has continued in waves ever since. This book is not concerned with the "lost generation" whose exploits between the wars have been extensively chronicled, although Ernest Hemingway and Gertrude Stein do still preside over the opening years of the period it covers. Post-liberation Paris was where James Baldwin sought refuge from America's racism and anti-homosexualism, and found his voice; where Irwin Shaw's hospitality mixed Hollywood celebrities with struggling writers; where Allen Ginsberg and Gregory Corso caroused through the night at the "Beat Hotel" and tried to imagine what William Burroughs could do with his chaotic "Naked Lunch". Others in search of artistic freedom included Richard Wright, William Styron, James Jones and Chester Hines. The era saw the rebirth of English-language publishing in Paris. The founders of "Merlin" magazine featured Samuel Beckett in every issue, and then, when they ran out of funds, joined forces with Maurice Girodias, whose press published not only their pseudonymous erotica but also the works of Nabakov, Beckett and Burroughs.Meanwhile George Plimpton and Peter Mathieson launched "The Paris Review", a buoyant and bustling enterprise that thrives to this day. Christopher Sawyer-Laucanno, the author of "An Invisible Spectator: a Biography of Paul Bowles", traces the unlikely alliances that developed in these years. He contrasts those artists who explored and drew on French modernism with those who remained staunchly and stubbornly American in Paris. He reflects the politics of changes times - the McCarthyism that flung free-thinkers from America into exile, and the Algerian conflict which caused black expatriates to question the sincerity of French racial tolerance. And he provides a record of the formative years that projected very diverse talents into literary prominence. The pilgrimage of American writers to Paris began with Henry James over a century ago, and has continued in waves ever since. This book covers the American writers in the opening years of the period. Shipping may be from our Sydney, NSW warehouse or from our UK or US warehouse, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780747512561
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