Behind the curtains of Shakespeare and Company

The Earful Tower: Paris

Oliver Gee

Arts, Paris, Society & Culture, Travel, Places & Travel, France

4.8 • 749 Ratings

🗓️ 25 May 2020

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

You might know the Shakespeare and Company bookshop from popular films like Midnight in Paris or Before Sunset.

You might know it from your last visit to Paris... You might have even bought a book here.

But what really goes on at the iconic and mysterious Shakespeare and Company?

Is it true that they let writers sleep here for free? (Yes) Is it true they're removing the roof and renovating its insides? (Well, yes and no). And can you get a copy of my new memoir there? (Amazingly, yes!)

Together with Events Manager Adam Biles, I sat down inside the upstairs reading library, which features George Whitman's private collection. Adam has lived in Paris for 15 years and worked at the book store for over three years, and we chatted books, Tumbleweeds, and lockdown.

Here's the chat, and below are some important names and links we mentioned in the show.

Naomi Klein is a Canadian author, social activist, and filmmaker known for her political analyses and criticism of corporate globalization and of capitalism.

John Peter Berger was an English art critic, novelist, painter and poet.

Rachel Cusk is a Canadian-born novelist and writer who lives and works in England.

George Saunders is an American writer of short stories, essays, novellas, children's books, and novels.

Valeria Luiselli is a Mexican author living in the United States.

Louis Sebastian Theroux is a British-American documentary filmmaker, journalist, broadcaster, and author.

Buy the Notre Dame Poetry book Adam mentioned here for €6

https://shakespeareandcompany.com/d/9791096101016/poems-for-notre-dame

Grab my book Paris On Air €20

https://shakespeareandcompany.com/d/9781098301996/paris-on-air

And visit their website here:

https://shakespeareandcompany.com/

Lastly, if you're enjoying The Earful Tower, become a member here and catch my upcoming walks from around the Eiffel Tower: https://www.patreon.com/theearfultower

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hello everyone, you're listening to the Eiffel Tower podcast. My name's Oliver G. This is a show all about Paris.
0:05.7	And what do you think about when I say iconic Paris bookshop? Does it make you think about the Shakespeare and Company bookstore?
0:12.6	Well, that is exactly where today's interview was recorded. That's what it's all about. And that's going to be the topic for the next half an hour.
0:19.9	It's me and Adam Biles and Englishman, who is the events manager down at the bookshop. If in your mind,
0:26.0	you're thinking, do I know this bookshop? Of course you do. It's the one that is almost
0:29.6	directly opposite the Notre Dame Cathedral. It features in movies like midnight in Paris
0:34.4	before sunset. Of course, you know what? You've probably been in there before.
0:38.1	In any case, we're talking all about it. And in this conversation, you'll hear a chat about the tumbleweeds.
0:45.1	You know, these are people who actually writers who live there or spend time there at least.
0:50.7	We talk about how the bookshop has been coping with the virus and the lockdown.
0:56.1	We talk about some of Adam's favorite interviews with writers before. We talk about all kinds of
1:00.4	stuff and I hope you will enjoy it. If you got two free hands while you're listening, why not go
1:05.3	on shakespeare and company.com. The link is in the show notes. But buy one of their books.
1:13.8	If you're feeling like going particularly Parisian,
1:19.2	I'm very excited to say that my own book Paris on Air is now available there to order online.
1:20.2	There's a link in the show notes.
1:21.4	Why not order it?
1:22.6	Why not order a few?
1:25.9	You'll understand why, at the end, help a local bookshop.
1:29.8	But before we begin, and rather like one of those russian like romance drama huge enormous toll story kind of books dostoevsky you know what i mean
1:37.1	with all the characters i thought it would be smart to just uh list a few of the characters from
1:43.4	history that adam talks about because, you know,
	...

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