Saturday, July 08, 2006

Ford Madox Ford

Ford Madox Ford, James Joyce, and Ezra Pound in Paris.
Ford believed in Hemingway's talent and made him a contributor and then an editor of The Transatlantic Review.
In "A Moveable Feast," Hemingway doesn't seem to be too pleased
with Ford's physical appearance or personal hygiene. It appears to
have been an odd relationship.
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4 comments:

Carlos said...

Hi Paul,
I'm back to Lisbon. I'm sad cause the week ended and Portugal lost again (I didn't saw the match cause I was on the plane).
Last wednesday my wife went shopping with her sister and I took the day to complete my "Hemingway tour". You can’t imagine the distance I walked between Montparnasse, Saint Germaine and Saint Michel. Not that these places are far from each other, but I wanted to be everywhere, to feel how it should be 80 years ago, cause, besides Hemingway, I have a crush on Paris. I crossed the Garden of Luxembourg again and no wonder Hemingway liked it: it’s incredible to find such place in the heart of a city like Paris. It was my 3rd time in Paris and I had never been there. This trip was a mix of feelings, cause although I loved to walk those same sidewalks Hemingway did, part of his Paris doesn’t exist anymore: the Notre Dame des Champs building was replaced for a new one; his cafés are now crowded with tourists with big wallets; original Shakespeare & co is gone. I’ve been at Cardinal Lemoine, at the original Shakespeare & co location (there's a plate explaining that James Joyce's Ulysses was first published there in 1922 by Sylvia Beach), at Gertrude Stein’s street, in front of Hotel D’Angleterre, etc. I bought some postcards, took lots of pictures (over 640 with my 6 year old niece been the main subject). If you want to see (or post) some, let me know and I’ll put them in my ftp site.
Regards,
Carlos

Nikon said...

Hi Carlos,
I'd love to see your pics.
Yes, too bad Portugal lost, in my neighborhood everyone was sad, too.
I didn't know everything was so far apart in Hemingway's favorite places. At least you got in a good walk! I hope that you enjoyed it all. I've seen pictures of the new cement building that replaced the Notre Dame des Champs building & it looks pretty ugly.
I didn't know so many tourists went to see his favorite places. I knew he was popular, but I didn't think that he ws such a "big star."
The luxembourg garden must be very nice if it impressed you that much.
640 pics, wow!! If you think you have any pics of his old apartments or cafes that you really like, I'd love to take a look at them.
I hope that you had a good time with all of the walking - Paris must be great, but I hope that looking for Hemingway's spots made you enjoy it even more.
Best,
Paul

Carlos said...

Hi Paul,
When I say his favorite places are full with tourists (most of them Americans) it's because those are really the best places to seat and have a drink or eat. I’d bet they don’t have the slightest idea Hemingway use to go there. Places like Les Deux Magots, Le Select or Le Dome are very well located, besides they have the words “American Bar” and that also attract tourists from the US.

It’s funny this attraction to Hemingway started because of his granddaughter, Mariel. I saw Manhattan and Star 80 and loved her, but unfortunately she hadn’t much lucky on her next movies.

Paris is great and this time I wanted to do something different (believe it or not this time I didn’t go to Champs Elysee or Arc de Triomphe), now I feel I know little more about Paris.

I hope in the weekend I’ll have time to select some photos. I also have some postcards I’m sure you’ll enjoy but I must ask a friend to scan them.

Regards,
Carlos

Nikon said...

Hi Carlos,
Yes, I agree about Mariel - she was great in "Manhattan." I don't know what she's doing now.
I don't have a scanner either, so I know it's a pain. That is just for the postcards? You used a digital camera for the 600+ pics that you took?
I know when I was in Italy (my only trip outside of the US) I was happy to find an American bar/restaurant, so I guess it makes sense that is why Hemingway's favorite spots are filled with tourists. The Italians are very nice, no problems at all - but it was nice to hear english every now & then.
I look forward to seeing some of what you saw & took pics of.
Take care,
Paul