Why Paris? – The Magic & The Mundane of the City of Love

Paris has long been a place where writers and artists sought political and creative refuge. Vladmir Nabakov, Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce and Janet Flanner all moved to Paris hoping to thrive in a city that both inspires and challenges.

As a lifelong francophile, Paris has rooted in my own imagination as a place that offers more vitality. I’ve been fascinated by the city’s influence on the creative pioneer, and have spent hours in Paris researching for my novel.

Curious to see if the myth of Paris as a refuge for writers still sticks, I interviewed a handful of authors to see what the city of lights does for their writing.

Today we meet the authors, and I ask them the eternal question, “Why Paris?”. We also delve a little deeper into how Paris, like any other surrounding or Writer’s Space, inspires, influences and helps their writing.

The authors are :

Heather Stimmler-Hall leads private tours and publishes the popular web site Secrets of Paris. She’s the author of many Paris guidebooks including Naughty Paris and the recently published Naughty New York.

Janet Skeslien Charles is the author of Moonlight in Odessa and lives and writes in Paris.

Mary Duncan is the author of Henry Miller Is Under My Bed. Mary lives in Paris and founded the Paris Writers Group.

Cara Black is the author of the popular Aimee LeDuc detective series. Each book is set in a different neighborhood in Paris, such as Murder in the Marais.

Katy Masuga is a professor and author of the recently released books Henry Miller and How He Got That Way and The Secret Violence of Henry Miller.

Why Paris?

H S-H This is just where I ended up 16 years ago, more by chance than any grand scheme. I’ve been trying to make the best of it ever since, because even though it’s not the easiest place to live and work, it’s certainly the most rewarding, in my experience.

CB I’ve had a long love affair with France. My father was a Francophile and my household had a lot to do with France. When I first came here, I realized how much there is here. I’ll never get tired of it. I’ll never be French or totally understand this culture. I’d wanted to write for a long time but it wasn’t until I was passionate about something that I was able to write.

JSC Like many people, I moved here ‘for a year’ and just decided to stay…

KM It might be just as easy to say ‘because I studied French literature, in part, in graduate school’, but of course that simply postpones the question, creating a diversion toward another question. I wanted to explore what was unfamiliar. I wanted to become part of the world unknown to me through both space and time – namely, travel and study. I earned a PhD in Comparative Literature with a focus on early 20th century expatriate literature, specifically writers who came from abroad and lived in Paris, drawn in their own ways to finding that world of otherness in oneself.

MD Paris nourishes my soul. When I visited in the 80s, I said, someday I am going to live in Paris and write what I want (as opposed to writing as an academic). It takes a lot of gumption to move to a new place. I think it requires a lot of questioning about why you aren’t happy where you are.

How Does Paris Inspires Your Writing?

H S-H I’ve wanted to be a writer as long as I can remember. But back in 7th grade when I was about 12 years old, my English teacher made it clear that writing wasn’t a “real” job, so I decided to become a journalist. When I arrived in Paris as a college student, I couldn’t help but notice how the French take writing — and writers — seriously. There’s a respect for the profession here that I never saw in the United States where every writer (except those who are already wildly successful like Stephen King) is dismissed with a “And what’s your day job?”

Even though I’m still more of a journalist than a novelist (I’m working on it!), I think the atmosphere here is much more conducive to a serious writing career than it was for me back in the States.

CB There are the big stereotypes. I don’t see that though. I write about what I see. Paris is still charming, outside of the stereotypes. I’m always discovering things, like the doll hospital down the street.

JSC I find it incredibly hard to concentrate on writing in Paris, there are so many wonderful distractions in the form of cafes, readings, work, life…

KM My view is extraordinary, and, once again, I am privileged with a feeling of paradoxical simultaneity: I am constantly thrust into the vibrant rush of the city, yet I remain in my own private space.

It’s a great writing space for me, because I have always felt that I should be out more in the world even though I prefer to be alone most of the time. This way, I have the pleasure of feeling like I’m among the crowds, when in fact I’m simply perched in my tower. I do like the quiet, but I also like the energy of the world moving around me.

MD Paris does feed your senses. But a lot of places have that. We have to feed ourselves. For me, a lot of what Paris gives me is the people. I started the Paris Writers’ Group, because I missed the writers’ group I was part of in San Diego.

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Tomorrow we continue our tour of Paris through the eyes of our writers, including the many myths (true or otherwise) about Paris as well as the challenges that living in a new, vibrant city can bring to your work. We also take a little bit of a closer look at the individual writing spaces of our authors, the little corners of Paris they have carved out and made their own.

Before tomorrow’s article, please share with us the cities and places that inspire you and your writing. If you’ve been to Paris, what did you think of it?

Images courtesy of Moyan Brenn and Cynthia Morris.