a blind flaneur

The Siren, by John William Waterhouse (circa 1900) [Source: Wikimedia Commons]
I worked on a small literary magazine in the 1970s with a graphic designer who was smitten with the intricate book illustrations of Aubrey Beardsley. I should rummage around in the boxes of geologically stratified ephemera that constitute my literary archive to find a […]

[Photo by gadl]
Art is everywhere in Paris. You don’t have to stand in line or pay 10 euros to enter the museum. As the flaneur knows, the museum is the street. You pay with your attention.
This image represents a gritty, in-your-face genre of street art meant to catch the eye when you least expect it. […]

[Photo by Ms. Modigliani]
When I’m in Paris I cross the river at least once to walk up Rue Vivienne, which runs north from the Louvre and Palais Royale. Compared to the grand boulevards, Rue Vivienne feels like a narrow, unassuming street, but it crosses the heart of a thriving financial district. Here one finds the […]