Bonjour from Paris where I am walking eagerly, guide book and camera at the ready like the generic American tourist, although not in plaid shorts, to find the many shrines to our Lost Generation of writers who found Paris an affordable place to write. If Hemingway came today, I'm afraid he'd need to have won the Power Ball to live decently and write. Quel prix!
First stop the reincarnated Shakespeare and Co. bookshop not far from the Seine and Notre Dame on a small street. Picture on left is the second floor where readings are held. The shot below shows the exterior.
The business was moved here in the late 1930s, so this is not where Papa, Joyce, Cowley, et al, hung out. That was nearly a half-mile away on Rue de L'Odeon where a haute couture shop now operates. The tres charmante clerks smiled at me as I snapped a few photos.
Yet, the present Shakespeare & Co., defines the term "literary charm." From the funky location to the crammed store, full of books, the place is a haven for those who believe in the printed word -- and I mean printed between covers on paper. My doughty companion had to drag me away by threatening to call the gendarmes.
Posted
May 16 2009, 08:48 PM
by
Bob Hoover