Sylvia Beech Talks of Shakespeare and Co. in Paris in 1919, and of Ernest Hemingway and James Joyce
Sorry guys for going all blue stocking again, and so soon ... but, having put out a post on my extraordinary experience with respect to the famous English language bookshop in Paris 'Shakespeare and Company' (LINK) ...
... I couldn't resist another when I stumbled across a 1950s interview with its 1919 founder, Sylvia Beech.
Sylvia and girlfriend Adrienne Monnier, ...
... who ran a French language lending library, ...
... formed, as the little documentary surrounding the interview says, 'the nexus for the interchange between French and English literature' in the 1920s and beyond. 'Shakespeare and Company' was one of the major centres for much of activity of the ex-pat American artistic community.
In this interview, Sylvia Beech talks about her friendship with writer James Joyce and her publishing his 'Ulysses' in 1922. It had been serialised in 'The Little Review' between 1918-1922.
She also speaks about her relationship with Ernest Hemingway ...
As with all footage like this, for me the thing is getting a sense of the person, as much as engaging with the content. A bit like Peter Seller's 'being there'.
Hi Nick, I meant to say, when you first posted this, what a kick I got out of it. Two thoughts: the Hemingway anecdote is charming, as apparently he was when sober. And, tangentially, I love Sylvia's voice! They had voices then! Your post brought back memories of my own pilgrimage to Shakespeare & Co. many years ago and how densely packed it was, floor to ceiling. Don't think I had ever seen so many books so thickly piled into every nook and cranny. What phenomena it and she were and are! xo, David, NYC
ReplyDeletehey david
ReplyDeletelook, paul, i got such a kick out of twice posting it back on the old blog - the extraordinary personal experience i'd had in the bookshop added to it all - that i just couldn't resist a re-post here - so glad you didn't yawn!
and to hear sylvia beech chat about the early 'shakespeare and co.' was so fascinating - and yes the quality of her voice and her delivery - not what i expected - i had something more blue stocking in mind - a la virginia woolf - shows how wrong one can be!
nice we've both had the experience!
xo nick now aka nickraymondhall!