Shakespeare and Company Paris I found. I understand the initial shock when it comes to the address found in this intriguing bookstore named “Shakespeare and Company”. I was expecting to find it in England, not in Paris. But then again, if not for my curiosity piqued, I will not be motivated enough to explore what is in store for us here through the bookstore’s official blog.
Shakespeare and Company is managed by its proprietor, Ms. Sylvia Whitman, a position she inherited from her father, George Whitman, who founded this bookstore. In fact, Ms Whitman was generous enough to share her father’s ideals that he used in putting up this bookstore.
The highest quality of an individual is to be human. The phrase “to be human” means to follow life wherever it may lead, up and down, down and up, from the bottom of the world to the top, from darkness into light, through each degree of good and evil. As the circle of knowledge widens, life grows more beautiful and heroic. We are part of everything—men, books, cities, railroads—all made from the same atoms and molecules, all living together and dying together, joined into one imperishable unity that can never be divided.
Hmm, humanist ideals. I know a group in the Philippines that upheld humanist ideals. Then again, it served as the guiding principle that helped Ms Whitman maintain this bookstore. While some folks consider her endeavor as doomed, the transformation that this market is undergoing served as a challenge to her. I know how eBooks have often taken much of the attention away from the physical books themselves. But I applaud her efforts at keeping a bookstore that promotes literary classics. Besides, the online bookstore is already in the works. When will it be launched? No date has been mentioned yet.
Efforts to promote the bookstore are evident with the way they used social media in updating every bookworm worldwide. They have a SoundCloud page where they air their podcasts, a Tumblr page where some snippets of the bookstore itself are shared and of course, a Facebook page that may have more content than what is found on their blog. It must have been the uploaded photos and shared podcasts that directed much of the traffic to the Facebook page away from the official website itself.
The creativity level of some of the guests featured here is astounding. Imagine the poetry of Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman used in a play as if the 2 poets are answering each other with lines from their poems. That must have been intriguing. What if these 2 literary luminaries had a history with each other? The dramatic reading of the play was also broadcast through this podcast episode on SoundCloud.
Despite having a “Shakespearean” reputation, the crew behind Shakespeare and Company try to make an effort to be relevant. Laura Keeling, the Events and Communications Manager of Shakespeare and Company, did not let their nationalities hinder their support for #JeSuisCharlie. A large group from their staff joined the January 11 rally in support for freedom of expression. At the end of the day, literature is still literature after all.
For a bookstore, they sure know how to keep the place populated with events that attract fellow literary junkies. It seems like Paris is a nice place to hangout when poetry readings are your thing. Cultural insights and commentary about how some folks would still favor paperbacks over eBooks can be read in their blog too.
William Shakespeare is still relevant today because the generations that he inspired keep his memory alive. This is also the reason why Ikarus Productions will stage “Hamlet” at DITO Bahay ng Sining in Marikina. In case you haven’t realized yet, I will be playing the title role of Hamlet. To constantly get updates and teasers regarding me and the play that I will headline, please like my official Facebook page, Kuya Manzano Fan Club, and follow me on Twitter @kuyamanzano. Gracias!