Where Renée Vivien Lived in Paris

Renée Vivien was a British-born poet that lived most of her life in Paris, France. Born Pauline Tarn, she changed her name once she permanently relocated to Paris, believing that this new beginning was the equivalent of a rebirth. She wrote almost exclusively in French, stating that she refused to speak in her mother's language, as her mother made clear attempts to inherit Vivien's father's fortune. These attempts included declaring her daughter mentally deranged and trying to commit Vivien to a mental institution, only for her to lose custody of her daughter. Vivien became a ward of the royal court and inherited her father's fortune. Vivien was fond of Paris, as she went to boarding school there and moved to Paris permanently when she turned twenty-one. Vivien's Paris home, the second place in France she lived in, was a luxurious ground-floor apartment 23, avenue du Bois de Boulogne (now 23, Avenue Foch) that opened onto a Japanese rock garden that housed her pet frogs and snake. As described by Colette in her book, The Pure and the Impure, Vivien kept her home dark with thick, heavy curtains covering her leaded glass windows; the air was thick with the smell of incense. She wrote some of her poetry on a notepad while curled up on her divan. The furnishings in her home were constantly changing, except for her several large Buddha statues. As Colette writes, some of her décors included Japanese folding screens, "glass cabinets of exotic butterflies and other insects,...[and] a miniature garden of bushes having leaves of crystal and fruit of precious stones." Her home was lit only by three tall taper candlesticks on a low, imported table in her parlor. She served her guests sashimi, foie gras, and shrimp on jade, gold vermeil, and porcelain plates, along with imported Russian, Greek, and Chinese alcohols. Unfortunately, Vivien's guests had difficulty seeing the expensive tastes of their hostess in her dimly lit home.

Text Source:

Wickes, George. “A Natalie Barney Garland.” The Paris Review, 1975. https://www.theparisreview.org/letters-essays/3870/a-natalie-barney-garland-george-wickes.

Image Source:

“Renée Vivien.” In Prabook, 2021. https://prabook.com/web/renee.vivien/3778564.