Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Fans Go Wilde in Paris Cemetery

Famed writer and poet Oscar Wilde just can't seem to rest in peace. Fans of the Irishman, who wrote the novel "The Picture of Dorian Gray" and the play "The Importance of Being Earnest," is buried in the well-known Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris.

It all started in the late 1990s when one woman -- presumably -- decided to give the monument a little kiss. Since then, visitors have been planting smooches all over it. Some have even taken to drawing lipstick hearts and graffiti on it. One might think that lipstick kisses on a stone monument would be harmless, but according to Wilde's grandson, Merlin Holland, they are not. The grease from the lipstick sinks into the stone and each time it's cleaned, the stone is rendered more porous. 

In an effort to salvage the monument, Holland plans to have it restored (that includes replacing the castrated angel's private parts) and then surrounded by glass. 

Wilde died broke in Paris in 1900. The monument in his honor was erected in 1914.

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