Marais — “Someone handed me a plastic cup of white wine and I sipped it so I didn’t have to make conversation”

005 : Claire Oldman at the Red Wheelbarrow Bookstore, Marais
Born in 1976 in London, UK, Claire Oldman currently works as Writer Why Paris? It’s just better. She digs the following Paris bits: 1. The sound of water cleaning the gutters in the morning. 2. That flânerie isn’t perceived as unfocused time wasting. 3. The soft “bong, bong, bong” announcement sound at Gare du Nord 4. The Parisian insistence on having a proper lunch every day. 5. Pierre Hermé americano pamplemousse macarons. She is, however, a bit miffed by the asshole shop assistants, forgetting which (different) days museums/bakeries/laundries are closed, getting inhibited about speaking French - badly-, the communal changing room at Isabel Marant, and let's not forget the rude, conceited, asshole shop assistants. For more info on Claire Oldman you should send an email or visit Lola is Beauty.

“Someone handed me a plastic cup of white wine and I sipped it so I didn’t have to make conversation”

I had invited myself to a poetry reading — don’t ask. I already felt like a cliché but I had just arrived in Paris, was going to be there for a month alone and I didn’t know a soul. The bookshop^[1] was just a short walk down the street — otherwise I would’ve bottled out.^[2] Along rue de Sevigné,^[3] past the Pompiers^[4] who never flirted with me but apparently did with everyone else. Across rue St Antoine at dusk; busy with traffic, people buying vegetables, bread and wine on the way home; then nervously sauntering down rue Saint Paul, the archetypal charming Parisian street. The bookshop was packed full of humans, most of whom seemed to know each other. Someone handed me a plastic cup of white wine and I sipped it so I didn’t have to make conversation. The reading began and I settled awkwardly, flushed with wine. I can’t remember any of the poems. There was a man with a beard reading some kind of freestyle beatnik stuff. A blonde woman came next I think. Then a girl about my age started reading. After a while I became aware that I couldn’t breathe properly and my vision had clouded over with tears.

Blinking will release them so I try to tilt my head back a bit. It was at the point when she read, “Because no one can help, because filling out one more form is too much effort, because of the parking tickets, the aspirin prices, the mail taking too long for the bills.” ^[5]

It was London; it was something to do with being so tired of everything. It was Paris; it was fear of spending a month alone in a place where I suspected the natives of being unfriendly. I bought the book and chatted to its author. She told me the poem was about seeing someone jump in front of a train. That shook me up, though now when I read it, I see only that. They invited me for a drink around the corner with everyone. I went, drank more wine, laughed and talked like those people you see through restaurant windows.

referenced works

The Red Wheelbarrow, 22 rue Saint-Paul, 75004. Takes its name from the 1923 William Carlos Williams Imagist poem: so much depends / upon / a red wheel / barrow / glazed with rain / water / beside the white / chickens ↩

To bottle out: British English expression meaning “to lack courage to do something.” ↩

Street in the 4th arrondissement (the Marais) ↩

French firefighters, best known not for putting out fires but for throwing massive parties on the eve of the 14 Juillet. ↩

“What Holds the Body” in Fluorescence, by Jennifer K. Dick. (University of Georgia Press, 2004). Reprinted with permission. ↩

location information

Name: the Red Wheelbarrow Bookstore
Address: 22 rue Saint Paul 75004 Paris
Time of story: Morning
Latitude: 48.855426
Longitude: 2.361803
Map: Google Maps

commentary

017 “I opened the hip high gate and found a green wooden bench in the shade” — Anne Schwartz

016 “I didn't know what it was she had that I wanted.” — Catherine Vreeland

015 “She was still there, with her shining coat of orange and the green belt of the RER C at her feet.” — Lily Templeton

014 “Paris is its own reason.” — Tory Hoen

013 “Gilded angels taking off from Châtelet, Bastille, Invalides” — Jennifer K. Dick

012 “A dialogue out of nowhere and from the 5th dimension” — Jussara Nunes

011 “I started screaming New York-style obscenities.” — Richard Nahem

010 “Her soul is okay though, she’s just received Holy Communion at Saint-Nicolas, one station before” — Tom Frozart

009 “It felt like if things continued the way they were, my body would disintegrate” — Chris Huntington

008 “It reminded me of an Yves Saint Laurent dress, of mermaids and of Christmas” — Catharine Hewitson

007 “I felt a sense of relief as I experienced the rare soothing absence of fluorescent light” — Kincaid

006 “My fist flew wildly and connected with the warm Parisian evening air” — John Greiner

005 “Someone handed me a plastic cup of white wine and I sipped it so I didn’t have to make conversation” — Claire Oldman

004 “The white winter sunshine makes it warm enough for tourists and locals to sit outside the cafe on the Place des Abbesses” — Badaude

003 “Two cans of beer in the thin plastic bag” — Bronwyn Mahoney

002 “Je ne suis pas une femme facile” — Lauren Elkin

001 “His guitar was underscoring my morning ride beyond Gare du Nord through the graffitied suburbs” — Tim Cissell

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