Monday, May 9, 2011

The Socialist Tour of Père-Lachaise

The only really touristy thing that my wife and I have done in Paris so far is a visit to the Cimetière du Père-Lachaise (the rest of you can take the virtual visit here). Just so that my street cred isn't damaged, I want to make it clear that I did not go to visit Jim Morrison's grave. We did, however, take a non-sectarian socialist tour of the cemetery.

Auguste Blanqui (1805-1881)
Saint-Simon (1760-1825)

Nestor Makhno (1889-1934)

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) with, unfortunately, graffitti


A Memorial for the Communards (some of whom were shot at this wall)

 Paul Lafargue (1842-1911) and Laura Lafargue (née Marx, 1845-1911)

Paul Éluard (1895-1952)

Adrien Lejeune, the last communard (1847-1942)

Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908-1961)

And I feel that we can't leave out a few non-socialists:

Théodore Géricault (1791-1824), with a reproduction of The Raft of Medusa

And, finally, Richard Wright (1908-1960)

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