Author Description

A sparkling anthology of the best and most representative social and literary pieces from the Chicago Tribune, European Edition (better known as the Paris Tribune), this volume provides firsthand documentation of the literary and cultural life of the "expatriate" writers of the twenties and thirties. The Chicago Tribune got off to a spirited start in France, serving as a haven for a staggeringly talented band of expatriates, among them novelists, poets, musicians, and even a few promising newspapermen, who descended on Paris during the decade fully determined to test their talents in the ambiance of that modern Parnassus, the Left Bank. During its seventeen years, the Paris Tribune employed a steady stream of famous and soon-to-be famous young writers and intellectuals: Ford Madox Ford, Eugene Jolas, and Elliot H. Paul edited and contributed to a Sunday Literary Supplement; Floyd Gibbons and George Seldes worked as reporters. Editors included Dave Darrah, James Thurber, and Hank Wales. Henry Miller and Bravig Imbs read copy; Kay Boyle, Maxwell Bodenheim, Alfred Perles, Alex Small, Harold Stearns, and Lansing Warren wrote features. These previously untapped articles provide a rich cultural history of the animated experimentation that shaped the literary, musical, and artistic movements of today. Rounding out the selection of articles are retrospective essays by several former members of the European Edition's staff, including Ralph Jules Frantz, the paper's last managing editor.