1. Every artist needs a safe haven.
There are but few mandatory qualifications for such a sanctuary; It must be in the
midst of people and yet a space of their own, as all art is inspired by human experience
and the ability to recollect upon it. William Wordsworth defined poetry as “the
spontaneous overflow of powerful emotion recollected upon in solitude” --- there must be
solitude. For John Milton this tranquil space was found in a small cottage far away from
the hustle and bustle of London, England. For Wordsworth it was often overlooking some
scene where nature and man’s creation collided, for Franz Kafka it was haunting coffee
shops and bars, for F.Scott Fitzgerald it was anywhere he was after coming back from a
speakeasy, and for Ernest Hemingway and for myself on this overcast day, it was the
Shakespeare and Co. bookstore.
If you were not looking for this small hole in the wall in Paris you would miss it
completely as it’s tucked away by trees and overgrown flower boxes, along with
possessing the slight distraction of the Notre Dame Cathedral across the way. Upon
entering the small green door that looks like it has many years of paint layered on it, the
world seems to dissolve --- the tolling of the bells of Notre Dame, the pages of the books
being turned, and an occasional pen scratch on fresh paper, are the only sounds to
accompany a cacophony of sight.
Each wall is bursting with books of every color and shade of that color, pocket
sized books, books larger than my upper body, new books with modern covers and books
with covers barely being held together. There was no lack of personality on the shelves
or in the store itself.
In the 1600s this place was a monastery and the chunky red and white mosaic tiles
from it still cover the floor of this hideaway. One section of the floor has a hole in the
ground covered by glass with a slit to put money into. Beneath the glass is a sign that
says, “Free the starving writers” and surrounding it a pile of change. This joke is quite
easily missed as most people are focused on the books reaching up to the ceiling, books
that if you wanted them you would need to climb a ladder to get.
If any bookstore were to surpass all other bookstores in the world it would be this
one. Yes, the location is supreme as it is along the banks of the Seine River and only
twenty-five steps away from the towering Notre Dame Cathedral. Yes, it is an English
language bookstore with the namesake of my favorite playwright. But more so, it is a
place that understands the visitor of worlds, the reader, and the creator of them, the
writer. The owner of this store is not a millionaire looking to open up another chain like
Barnes & Noble, she independently owns this store as it was handed down by her father
before her. She has a private collection of her and her father’s books upstairs that the
public can use, all of which she has read. There are signs posted asking for silence in
order to respect the reader. Each worker and volunteer is well read and well spoken
offering reading suggestions to you upon request. The owner even allows aspiring writers
to come live in the store for a week, as there is a bedroom with a bathroom above the
bookstore. This room is free of rent and the only thing she requires of them is to work
two hours out of the day, to open and close the store. The rest of the 22 hours they have is
dedicated to writing. Where you are secluded from the world in the dim lighting of this
cove and yet all you need to do is look out the window or walk downstairs and re-
immerse yourself in society. Where if you hit writers block you can exit and walk along

2. the Seine river, pick up a cup of coffee and a fresh croissant, and clear your mind and be
re inspired.
Is there a better place to write than in the city of light and love? Why else do we
find Paris, France the second home of people like Ernest Hemingway, E.E. Cummings,
Edith Wharton, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Mark Twain?
Each person working in the store understands the artist and the art of writing,
especially the environment that is needed for the birth of a great novel or poem. To have
your name on a shelf you need the time for your craft to flourish and your style to form.
To have the silence to let your mind soar and have people who support you like the great
artists of the Renaissance had their patrons. This can be the greatest gift to the artist.
On the wall outside this special place the father of the owner wrote that, “Further
back in the year 1600 our whole building was a monastery called ‘la maison du mustier’.
In medieval times each monastery had a frère lumpier whose duty was to light the lamps
at nightfall. I have been doing this for fifty years now it is my daughters turn”. This is the
legacy that this man has passed down, however, not only to his daughter but every artist
and book lover who has set foot in this store. This is what Shakespeare & Company does;
it is not just a bookstore but a haven meant to inspire others to light the fire of
imagination and logic through recollecting upon human experience.