In November, when it rained in Paris, I spent five days in and around La Générale in the 14th arrondisement. I was doing a residency. One important part of this residency was reading a book I had found in the streets of Berlin, Christmas Holiday by W. Somerset Maugham. It was set in Paris, that’s why I waited one year before reading it. To my surprise and delight the main characters walked around in the streets not far from La Générale. Of course nothing, or close to nothing reminded of those days when mainly workers lived in the neighbourhood. I walked around, found le square Yves Klein as by accident.
I also became a footnote of Emmanuèl Rebus’ and Harold Schellincx’ vast and still growing collection of audio-biographic notes that is open to the public as the unpublic series published on bandcamp. One of them we did in a basement (cave!) around the corner from Rue du Poulet in Montmartre, a street that I can highly recommend to anyone who needs a hair extension, a new wig or a haircut. The other one was in the auditorium of La Générale, long after helping Emmanuèl collect the fallen leaves and planting a tree, after my talk on the practice and poetry of working with cassette tapes, after the concert together with Harold, Blenno Wurstbrücke and Anthony Carcone and after the talking, eating and drinking under the umbrella’s in the courtyard. (Anthony brought a great blanc, and Blenno a great rouge).