James Joyce, Ernest Hemmingway, Henry Miller, Samuel Beckett, Vladimir Nabokov, Edith Wharton – what do all these names have in common? Apart from their established position in the English literary canon, these writers all lived, at least temporarily, and found inspiration in the alluring smoke of Parisian streets, salons and bars.
This list of writers assembled in one city, in one period, roughly from the 1880s to 1940, rivals that of New York and London in significance for English language writings, and yet, Paris is far from an English-speaking community. Therefore, it is important to pose the question of why did such a distinguished list of anglophone writers assemble in Paris?
One must first understand the long tradition of Parisian salons stretching from before the Enlightenment to the modern era, which, in part, helped distinguish Paris as the European centre for culture and the arts. Some of this is in thanks to Louis XIV (1638-1715), the Sun King, who was one the greatest patrons of the arts since the Medici family and the Vatican in Italy during the Renaissance period, with his patronage of iconic French writers like Molière and Jean Racine. Consequently, an artistic and intellectual culture soon flourished in the newly constructed, ornamental walls of Versailles and beyond in Paris. The salons of Mlle Geoffrin, Mlle de Lespinasse, and Mme Necker were particularly influential in guiding enlightenment thought with key modern thinkers frequenting. This became so widespread that Rousseau remarked on the growing influence of women on intellectual thought through the Salon, “Unable to make themselves into men, the women make us into women. The result was a corrupt society that contrasted with the serious, virtuous, male societies of Sparta and Geneva.” Nonetheless, the salon tradition continued through the political upheaval of post-1789 France and played a crucial role in establishing an intellectual culture attractive to authors everywhere.
However, Rousseau’s objection that the salon resulted in a “corrupt society that contrasted with the serious, virtuous, male societies of Sparta and Geneva”, if true, may have actually been a force of attraction for writers, particularly writers such as Oscar Wilde. An attitude of liberation was able to thrive in this climate, especially with more tolerant attitudes towards homosexuality. Homosexuality has been decriminalised in France since 1791, when all anti-sodomy laws were abolished. Thus, although homosexuality, and all other LGBTQ+ groups, may have remained a social taboo in some circles, in the artistic and philosophical circles, it became accepted. For Oscar Wilde, who was tried for sodomy in the Old Bailey in London in 1895, and eventually imprisoned for two years, this social liberalism became a, for Wilde bittersweet, safe haven for homosexual writers.
But for those non-LGBTQ+ writers, this liberal attitude also lent itself to an eagerness to experiment with form and language in their works, which became incredibly important for the modernist movement. James Joyce, arguably the most important figure in the modernist movement, found his muse in the labyrinthine streets of Paris. The city served as the backdrop for his groundbreaking work, "Ulysses." Joyce's intricate narrative style and stream-of-consciousness technique redefined the possibilities of fiction, challenging conventional storytelling norms. And Paris, with its rich history and cultural tapestry, provided Joyce with the perfect canvas to explore the complexities of human consciousness.Ernest Hemingway, another luminary of 20th-century literature, immortalised his experiences in Paris in his memoir, A Moveable Feast. The book captures the vibrant literary scene of 1920s Paris, offering a glimpse into the lives of writers like F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, and Ezra Pound. Hemingway's concise and impactful writing style was deeply influenced by the city's energy, and he fondly remembered Paris as a place where he discovered his authentic voice as a writer.
This discovery of an “authentic voice” is perhaps the most important attraction of Paris to writers during the 20th century. Paris was able to offer a culture of freedom that allowed the artists of the 20th century to fully realise their creative capacities, and whilst Nazi occupation shattered this freedom, Paris nonetheless remains integral to the global literary scene.
