From Andrew Johnston in Paris:
_____________________
PARIS, June 16 (AFP) Lovers of French literature are shedding tears of
despair at the news that a cultural centre in the Yemeni city of Aden
named after Arthur Rimbaud -- poet -- has been turned into a hotel named
after John Rambo -- Hollywood war-hero.
The three-story house, where the poet himself stayed in the 1880s,
was inaugurated as the Maison de Rimbaud in 1994, but three years later
lack of French government funding forced it to close down.
On a recent visit to Aden, Rimbaud-enthusiast Jose-Marie Bel was
shocked to find that a building that once spread the beauties of Gallic
civilisation was now dedicated to the epitome of American machismo.
There is a big sign outside saying Hotel Rambo, said Bel, who as
former head of the association Friends of Rimbaud was responsible for the
original renovation of the house.
It is scandalous. It is inadmissible. It is a dishonour to France
and it is a dishonour to poetry, he said.
AFP
161336 GMT JUN 00
_____________________
... passed on by John Tranter, Sydney
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|