The Personal is Political. The Political is Personal.

 
What did you see when you were there?

Not these long-dead folks. But that was OK.

Théophile Dondey, who changed his name, by anagram, to Philothée O'Neddy, used to claim that he was obliged to keep his glasses on at night, as he was so short-sighted that otherwise he would be unable to see his dreams.

Baudelaire never equalled Gérard de Nerval in eccentricity, who used to go on a visit to hs friends, taking with him a large Renaissance bed, and then used to sleep on the floor beside it, out of respect for it.

He used to bring a skull to parties with him as a drinking mug, claiming that it was that of his father killed in the retreat from Russia,

and he was also reputed to have gone walking in a public park in Paris, leading a live lobster on a pale blue leash.

Glimpses of the literary life of 1830s Paris, courtesy of Starkie's 1958 biography of Baudelaire.

posted by TiR at 7:11 AM