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Article: Those were the days: on being a journalist in Paris in the '50s. (excerpted from 'Paris in the Fifties')
- Article from:
- The Washington Monthly
- Article date:
- November 1, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 Washington Monthly Company. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Thousands of young Americans were flocking to Europe after World War II, and I joined the throng. Late in June 1947, fresh out of college, I went to Paris, planning to stay for the summer. I stayed for 10 years.
Pourquoi Paris? Its name alone was magic. The city, the legendary Ville Lumiere, promised something for everyone--beauty, sophistication, culture, cuisine, sex, escape, and that indefinable called ambiance. "When good Americans die they go to Paris," ran Oscar Wilde's oft-quoted quip. That was certainly not my purpose in going there, but then, what was it? Perhaps, simply, Paris.
Modern European history and literature had been my major at ...