Telephone … But No Visa

READERS OF DISSENT will know Edouard Roditi as an occasional contributor on Islamic problems. Others will remember him as an American poet and critic of literature and art. Born in Paris of an American family that has resided there for three generations, ever since his grandfather was one of the founding members of the American Chamber of Commerce in the French capital, he is well-known to the French radio-public too as a frequent speaker in round-table discussions of foreign, especially American, authors published in French.

In 1954, he took an apartment in Paris and applied for the installation of a phone line. He was told he would have to wait a year, unless he obtained priority through the support of a professional organization. As he was scheduled to leave shortly for Algiers to interpret there at a Conference of citrus-fruit growers and packers from Mediterranean countries, he postponed obtaining this support until his return, a few weeks later. On his arrival in Algier...