Portrait of a Bookstore as an Old Man trois

In 1951, George Whitman opened a bookshop-commune in Paris. George, 92, still runs his "den of anarchists disguised as a bookstore," offering free, dirty beds to poor literati, cutting his hair with a candle and gluing the carpet with pancake batter. More than 40,000 poets, travelers and political activists have stayed at Shakespeare and Company, writing or stealing books, throwing parties and making soup or love while living with George's generosity and fits of anger. Illustrious guests include Henry Miller, Anaïs Nin, Jacques Prévert, Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs, Gregory Corso, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, James Baldwin and Richard Wright. Welcome to the makeshift utopia of the last member of the Beat Generation.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• Portrait
• Bookstore
• Old
• Man
• Paris
• Documentary
• George
• Whitman

[moc7810]

loveee George Whitman amazing man!!!

[amaxamon]

Wow, this brings back bad memories of all the bookstores I have worked at (many) one of the worst jobs of all time :P

[SLACKER614]

George treats people as they need to be treated....

[oilempire]

George is the kind of guy nobody would talk to if he were not the owner of the boostore and super rich. He's cute because of this context, but really he is just a miserable tyrant.

[snowmman2]

fucking

big mac.

A friend and I used to have "a fucking loaf of bread" as the handshake. Had to be said with the right phrasing and hand motions of course.

Quite interesting remembering.