RIP Shakespeare & Co’s George Whitman
George Whitman, the founder of the famous Shakespeare & Company Bookshop, passed away at the age of 98 on December 14th. Originally from America, he opened Le Mistral Bookshop in the Latin Quarter in 1951, changing the name to Shakespeare & Company to honor of Sylvia Beach’s original shop near Odéon, which closed during WWII. Most people know it as the historic home of the Beat Generation poets and writers, or for today’s annual literary festival attracting notable writers from around the world. Or for the free bed in the library upstairs that so many backpackers occupied over the decades. I met one of my best friends at this bookshop. But it’s not a time to be sad. Now under the careful and dedicated management of his daughter, Sylvia Beach Whitman, George Whitman’s legacy will continue. The funeral will be held at Père Lachaise Cemetery this Thursday (December 22) at 3pm in the Crematorium, followed by a Champagne reception at the bookshop at 6pm, where “everyone is welcome to share their stories.”
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