After Word, Thought, Life: A Stroll in Parisian Parks

Abstract

This afterword takes the reader on a lyrical psychogeographic drift (derive) through Paris’ green spaces, from the Buttes-Chaumont of Aragon’s 'Paris Peasant' back through the jardin anglais of the Parc Monceau and the grounds of colonial expositions to the bright red follies of the late twentieth-century Parc de la Villette. The pavilions met with here are like relics, living out their afterlives, triggering memories and imagination, reminding the reader of the changeability of function and meaning that makes it so difficult to pin down such structures.