About
Whether in books, on TV, audio, or magazines and newspapers, I pretty much exclusively talk and write about China (primarily Shanghai) in the first half of the twentieth century. And this blog is the place I throw all the interesting gobbets of information, historical anecdotes, ephemera and recommended books that fall through the cracks somehow and never get used anywhere else. There’s also the occasional piece of shameless self-promotion –
Paul French
And do take a look at my instagram page at oldshanghaipaul where I post old photographs and advertising from China.
No city in the world has quite the exotic allure of Tangier. From the 17th century, it has been a city of refuge and excitements - a city where sex is cheap, drugs are plentiful, and a place where the outcasts of the world can breathe easily. The golden years of Tangier began after World War I and barely survived World War II. Among those who sought sanctuary or inspiration from the city were Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and Ronnie Kray, the unhappy Woolworth heriress Barbara Hutton, Tennessee Williams, Joe Orton, Kenneth Halliwell, Cecil Beaton, Ned Rorem and Truman Capote.
In her column, Re-Covered, Lucy Scholes exhumes the out-of-print and forgotten books that shouldn’t be.
Like many readers, I suspect, I first came across the name Mohammed Mrabet in relation to Paul Bowles. Throughout the sixties, seventies, and eighties, everyone from
Life magazine to
Rolling Stone sent writers and photographers to Tangier where Bowles had been living since 1947 to interview the famous American expat, author of the cult classic
The Sheltering Sky. “If Paul Bowles, now seventy-four, were Japanese, he would probably be designated a Living National Treasure; if he were French, he would no doubt be besieged by television crews from the literary talk show
Paul French Tuesday, 2 Mar 2021 – 7pm-8pm – Webtalk –
The event is free of charge for members. For guests or non members, the registration fee is $50. Please click here .
In this talk, well-known Chinese historian, raconteur and author Paul French talks of the Chinese capital telling numerous true stories of fascinating people who visited the city in the first half of the 20th century.
From Bolsheviks and Nazis, to artists and bank robbers, to English aesthetes, to transplanted New York Bowery Balladeers, he describes that extraordinary era. He asks the major question behind so many of these sojourners’ decisions to remain in the ancient capital – why Peking?
China Rhyming » Blog Archive » RASBJ Event Reminder: Destination Peking: Revisiting the Foreign Colony 24/2/21 chinarhyming.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from chinarhyming.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.