|
|
 |
| |
'Poets'
home' plea to Dylan
ROCK stars Bob Dylan and Patti Smith are being approached
in the growing campaign to save the former Camden Town home
of iconic French poets Arthur Rimbaud and Paul Verlaine.
An approach has been made to the musicians amid concern that
number 8 Royal College Street could be bulldozed if it falls
into the wrong hands when it is sold by the Royal Veterinary
College in July.
Both folk hero Dylan and Smith, a 1980s punk rocker, have claimed
inspiration from Rimbaud and Verlaine. Dylan paid homage to
the pair on his album Blood on the Tracks in 1975. The poets
lived in the house in 1873, becoming lovers before a fiery falling-out
which saw Verlaine slap Rimbaud on the face with a wet fish.
Gerry Harrison, a Labour councillor who is one of the chief
campaign organisers, said: “There seem to be three emerging
options. Someone with the £1.2 million (valuation price)
buys the three buildings, and leases back the centre to whoever
will try to keep the memory of Rimbaud and Verlaine alive. In
this category, I have the support of the French Chamber of Commerce
in London, and I will be writing to its constituent firms. There
are also, incredibly, some developers who appear to be fairly
altruistic and are considering this.”
Another option is to get an academic institution to buy the
house. Foreign universities are already reportedly interested
in using the building for student accommodation and a study
centre.
Cllr Harrison said: “I think two US universities are interested.
And the Chancellor of the proposed University of the Arts, which
hopes to move into the Granary building in King’s Cross,
is showing an interest.”
A third possibility involves convincing the Landmark Trust charity
to take control of the house. |
| |
|
|
|
