A-Infos (en) France, UCL AL #374 - Culture - Reading André Warnod: *Témoignages et anecdotes, Montmartre* (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

"There are witnesses who do not merely look at their times: they 
understand them, observe them, recount them, and-in doing so-help shape 
them." - Isabelle Ducatez.
Amidst the gloom of current events, this book offers a welcome respite. 
The author-a journalist, but above all a resident of Montmartre-recounts 
the life of the neighborhood in the early 20th century with tenderness 
and a touch of nostalgia. This volume compiles two works originally 
published in 1955 and 1960.
After a few charming pages devoted to his early childhood, his school 
days, the carefree experiments of youth, and escapades to the bird 
market to acquire winged companions that would flutter freely around the 
apartment, the journalist shares his recollections of the Montmartre of 
that era.

Many books have chronicled this period, but here the story is truly 
told: we wander the narrow streets and immerse ourselves in the daily 
lives of the people. The author casts a sensitive-and at times 
critical-eye on this bustling artistic and literary world. As we turn 
the pages, his memories introduce us to the art students, the loafers, 
the bohemian painters, and all the eccentrics who populated the 
Montmartre of the time.

André Warnod rubbed shoulders with Mac Orlan, Apollinaire, André Salmon, 
and Max Jacob. He frequented the same haunts-bistros, the Bateau-Lavoir, 
the Lapin Agile, the Moulin de la Galette, the Place du Tertre, and Mère 
Adèle's restaurant. Among them were painters who were then unknown but 
whose names are now famous: Picasso, Valadon, Utrillo, Poulbot, and many 
others. Painters, writers, poets, and models crossed paths there; they 
lived in poverty, yet often showed great solidarity with one another. 
The journalist shares some wonderful anecdotes about solidarity amidst 
poverty, and about makeshift hospitality and sleeping arrangements.

Behind the scenes lay lives shattered by the great bloodletting of 1914, 
and artistic dreams crushed by a forced return to menial, low-paying 
jobs. Yet André Warnod also focuses on the teenage girls-or even 
younger-who, having left home or acting out of necessity, posed nude in 
artists' studios and often became easy prey for men. Sometimes, these 
young women ended up in prostitution.

The author brings to life this eclectic community-passionate about 
freedom and creativity, living life to the fullest and then some. Old 
Montmartre, with its narrow streets and houses, takes shape before our 
eyes. It is a deep dive into a world that has been much talked about, 
yet rarely truly told.

After the war, this uncertain creative milieu shifted to Montparnasse; 
there, too, the writer crossed paths with many famous names: Chagall, 
Foujita, Zadkine, and Modigliani. Warnod would coin the term "School of 
Paris" for these acquaintances-some of whom became close friends. It was 
an era of colorful, lively balls that Warnod would help make famous.

Two volumes for wandering through narrow streets and memories alike; 
this book is sure to interest and entertain anyone who loves old Paris 
and the dawn of modern art. As an added bonus, the work is illustrated 
with drawings and sketches-spontaneous, immediate glimpses of daily 
life. While the narrative may drag at times, these little details are 
precisely what give memory its flavor.

Dominique Sureau (UCL Angers)

André Warnod, *Fils de Montmartre*. Followed by *Drôle d'époque*, 
L'Échappée, "Paris perdu" series, 2026, 464 pages, 22 euros.

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Lire-Andre-Warnod-Temoignages-et-anecdotes-Montmartre
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