|
|
 |
| |
Treasure literary past
• Campaigners who are trying to find a suitable buyer
for the Camden property in which the French poets Paul Verlaine
and Arthur Rimbaud once lived are to be applauded.
This borough has an extraordinary wealth of literary associations,
many of which are unknown or unappreciated by a significant
proportion of residents or people who work here.
That is why the activities of various voluntary and cultural
groups, such as the Friends of the Heath Library in Hampstead,
are so important in helping spread awareness of Camden’s
heritage.
I work in the building in which the poet TS Eliot had an office
when he was an editor at Faber and Faber. There is a blue
plaque by the side of the front door, but I wonder how many
people know it is there?
The wind of change is forever blowing through Camden. But
we should not let that distract us from treasuring the fact
that the borough has been a fulcrum for literary activity
for generations. In fact, it still is, with a host of local
writers — including talents as varied as novelists Beryl
Bainbridge, Deborah Moggach and Eva Tucker —still contributing
to the legacy.
Jonathan Fryer
Russell Square, NW1
|
|
|
|
