83.6a

“In Paris, Celebrities Talk of Arts and the Economy.” Article-interview by E. J. Dionne, Jr. New York Times, 14 February, C12. Account of a French government conference in Paris, “The Cultural Congress of Paris: Creation and Development,” attended by artists and intellectuals, which focused on vague, abstract topic, addressed by long-winded speakers. Mailer’s comment: “When a French savant encounters a guest who fills him with consternation, he speaks only in full paragraphs.”