Red Wheelbarrow bookstore opens its doors
A new English-language bookshop, The Red Wheelbarrow, opens its doors in the Marais this month. The shop will specialize in classic and contemporary literature Its Canadian owner, Penelope Fletcher Le Masson, says she intends to make her new store a forum for quality literature and host readings and signings by exciting new authors.
“With globalization so much is big these days. I feel there is a need for more intimate places that give personal attention to people who love books,” says Le Masson. The shop also plans to feature children’s literature.
Wheelbarrow is the fulfillment of a life-long dream. “I have always been interested in books and the idea of having a small book shop. When I opened my first bookstore in Vancouver at 18 people jokingly called me the new Sylvia Beach.” Le Masson came to Paris 11 years ago and has worked for several of the city’s booksellers.
She says she named the shop after William Carlos Williams’ poem — “So much depends/upon/a red wheel/barrow” — as a tribute to dealing with all the minutiae involved in opening a business in France.
Red Wheelbarrow, 13 rue Charles V, Paris 75004. email: good.reading@wanadoo.fr
