The Beirut Book

Description

LebanonPostcard presents The Beirut Book, Original Idea by David Hury – Tamyras, Beirut 961 Prints – 2014 – Softcover book, 33×22 cm, 304 pages. In English, French and Arabic

FOREWORD by David Hury

To give, receive, take. It is always more or less the same story. With those around us. With the cities we choose to adopt and that adopt us. I will not make a lengthy speech about Beirut here – I have already done that elsewhere. The pages that follow speak for themselves. All I wanted to do was give voice to those who either love or hate this city.

“The Beirut Book” was born from a series of illustrations inspired by the enamelled blue name plates found at the corner of Beirut’s streets, and created by Beirut Prints, a collective of photographers formed three years ago. Initially, these illustrations relied on a simple principle: twist the phrasing of well-known quotations to include the word “Beirut”. The very first one was inspired by the U2 song “Where the Streets Have No Name”. An observation that turned out to be false since the streets of Beirut actually have names even when its inhabitants are rarely aware of them. Later, this phrase spawned others, all drawn from the language of Shakespeare and pop culture: “Star
Wars”, Nirvana, “Aliens”, Orwell…

A few weeks later, in fall 2013, the idea was reimagined as an interactive activity during the book fair “Salon du livre francophone de Beyrouth”. First, the idea had to be transposed to the French language, reworking phrases or quotes from authors such as Victor Hugo, Amelie Nothomb, Gerard de Villiers, bands or singers such as Telephone, Yves Montand and Noir Desir. Visitors of the book fair were able to try their hand at the exercise. They wrote what they wished about the city. In ten days, more than three hundred people had taken part in the game. Lebanese visitors, foreigners, authors. Swedes, Frenchmen, Afghans and Lebanese. A Goncourt winner. A Renaudot winner, and other eminent figures. And later more “penmen” such as composers, photographers, filmmakers, a prime minister, an ambassador… In this book, everyone has been treated equally and identified with a first name and an initial.

Beyond these more or less known figures, it was mainly the words of children, who were many to take part, that most marked the visitors, who enjoyed passing by the wall several times to discover the strata of phrases in continuous proliferation.

All these words were mixed with those of ordinary passers-by and with those that social media users put up online. And naturally, languages followed suit. On the wall plastered with pieces of paper and blue ink, there was English, French and Arabic of course, but also Armenian, Croatian, German, Swedish, Russian, Dutch, Spanish, Italian… This diversity is in Beirut’s image. Difficult to faithfully reproduce.

On the evening of the book fair closing, it became clear that something had to be done with those spontaneous expressions. Stage them, enrich them with new sentences, set them free. “The Beirut Book” has neither page numbers nor chapters or theme classifications. The pages that follow reflect the way Beirutis (at heart or just stopping over, and whatever their origins) perceive their city: chaotic, tender, full of hatred, libertarian, fettered, amorous, sexy, nostalgic, critical, unbearable, cynical…

To give, receive, take. In almost twenty years, Beirut has given me a lot and (re)taken a lot. “The Beirut Book” would thus seem almost as the last tribute of a man to a city that saw him be (re)born. Almost.

Well, that said, I will pass the mic, over to Mick.

LebanonPostcard will be responsible for sending the book you order, through a fast courier with a tracking number, guaranteeing reception of the package. The souvenirs may take three to five days to arrive, according to the country they are sent to.