Proust collage by Tom Raworth
- February 8, 2012
- In Proust for Fun
English poet Tom Raworth has created an amusing collage of Proust surrounded by contemporary writers of different nationalities.
Proust and Dogs
- October 13, 2011
- In Proust for Fun
In 1889, France celebrated the centennial of the French Revolution by hosting a world's fair in Paris and inaugurating, as the fair's centerpiece, Gustave Eiffel's controversial tower. One of the fair's visitors was Madeleine Lemaire, the society hostess and artist who illustrated Proust's first book, Les Plaisirs et les Jours (Pleasures and Days). She had gone to see the tower primarily for the benefit of her beloved dog Loute, to whom she talked constantly and who had, she was convinced, acquired from her an appreciation of art and architecture. Proust, who witnessed many of the conversations between Madeleine and her dog, was impressed by Loute's "extreme importance and high station." Alas, Mme Lemaire failed to record Loute's comments about the Eiffel Tower.
