memoirs of montparnasse

One can be forgiven for writing memoirs at the age of twenty-one if the period covered was Paris in the 1920s and one was hob-nobbing with the likes of Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, James Joyce, Lord Alfred Douglas, Man Ray, the legendary Kiki, and the ubiquitous Peggy Guggenheim. John Glassco's Memoirs of Montparnasse is a delightfully delicious romp through a few short years of decadence and debauchery, written in a witty, off-hand manner that is refreshingly candid and often quite thoughtful. How much of it is factual is hard to say; it wasn't published until 1970, and Glassco himself admitted to being "an accomplished liar". Yet it's true to the spirit of the times, by someone who was there, and is thoroughly engaging. The exuberance of youth leads from parties, cafes, and freely-flowing champagne to a life of porn and prostitution (as so many of us know too well!). I absolutely loved this charming book. Having checked it out from the local library, I plan on eventually buying a copy of my own. It's that good.


After his Parisian exploits, John Glassco (1909-1981) returned to Montreal ill from tuberculosis, and eventually had a lung removed. This did not prevent him from leading a unique and storied life. Known as a dandy and bon vivant, Glassco, a bisexual, was “a bit frightened by certain kinds of women and nearly always delighted if he could establish a triangle.” He served as mayor of the town of Foster for two years, and, as a man of letters, was publicly honored for his poetry. He also wrote a number of pornographic works, under various pseudonyms, and completed Aubrey Beardsley's unfinished erotic novel Under the Hill.

Glassco is the subject of a recent biography, A Gentleman of Pleasure: One Life of John Glassco, Poet, Translator, Memoirist and Pornographer, by Brian Busby, which I look forward to purchasing when I am once again gainfully employed. Visit Busby's blog for more on his book and its illustrious subject.