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| Short stories Tall grave |
Guy de Maupassant is a renowned writer of short stories. I first came across him thanks to George Saunders, who did a close reading and breakdown of the story Boule de Suif in his story club, and concluded that learning from Maupassant is a must for any short story writer. His grave is imposing and covered with flowering shrubs.
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| One of these names has faded... |
Simone de Beauvoir and Jean Paul Sartre are buried together, in a grave that is covered anew every day in tributes...to Simone. Sartre's name has faded on the headstone too. When they were both alive it was he who was more celebrated, but she and her work have aged better.
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| Self-effacing Sam |
The grave of Samuel Beckett and Suzanne Dechevaux-Dumesnil is modest and low to the ground, and the inscriptions are already fading after less than forty years. This all seems rather appropriate for Beckett's personality. But I picked up a new copy of Waiting for Godot at Shakespeare & Company and was reminded how vibrant and full of life his writing still is.
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| Never forget... |
Alfred Dreyfus wasn't a writer, but he inspired Émile Zola to write his famous letter J'accuse. I made a brief visit to Montmartre cemetery and saw Zola's grave but didn't take a photo. However, I did place a pebble on Dreyfus' grave in Montparnasse and was happy to see that many others had done the same.
