This discussion was focused on writers and cities, and writing the city. The writers and artists selected for this month's theme celebrate the city as a place of artistry, inspiration, and cohabitation, while also exposing the social inequalities and injustices inherent in urban spaces. At the beginning of the book club, we invited everyone to say a few words (or share a photo or a map) about the city or town where they live, seen through their eyes:

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What places do you frequent?

What makes your experience of [insert city] different from anyone else's?

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‍On cities in general

The Politics of Equity: Who owns the city?, Saskia Sassen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAQuyizBIug&ab_channel=UrbanAge

‍Paris

‍An Attempt at Exhausting a Place in Paris by Georges Perec, trans. Marc Lowenthal (PDF), and 'Approaches to What?', trans. John Sturrock, an article about what Perec calls the "infra-ordinary"

'Theory of the Dérive' by Guy Debord, trans. Ken Knabb: http://www.bopsecrets.org/SI/2.derive.htm ‍

‍Los Angeles

'A City Laid Out Like Lace' by Eve Babitz, from the collection I Used to be Charming, NYRB

‍Babitz, A City Laid Out Like Lace.pdf‍

'The City and the Writer: In Los Angeles with André Naffis-Sahely', interview by Nathalie Handal: https://wordswithoutborders.org/read/article/2022-06/the-city-and-the-writer-in-los-angeles-with-andre-naffis-sahely-nathalie-handal/‍

‍Buenos Aires‍

'The Streets' by Jorge Luis Borges, trans. Stephen Kessler: https://antropoloskiokular.wordpress.com/2015/03/08/jorge-luis-borges-las-calles-the-streets/?fbclid=IwAR2ymNSfA-FW5-gcYPS_bj7i1wWs4lV9Br9xUz59rvghbdezB4YSd0qfSws‍

‍Bombay‍

'The City and the Writer: In Bombay with Jeet Thayil', interview by Nathalie Handal: https://wordswithoutborders.org/read/article/2019-06/the-city-and-the-writer-in-bombay-with-jeet-thayil-nathalie-handal/‍

‍New York‍

Jazz, by Toni Morrison, listen to the author read an excerpt here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WalpqW351Es&ab_channel=CTFORUM‍

‍London‍

Interview with Eva Weber, director of The Solitary Life of Cranes: https://www.documentary.org/online-feature/meet-filmmakers-eva-weber%E2%80%94-solitary-life-cranes (see a trailer for the film here: https://vimeo.com/42429589)