We had a lot of fun with the first Litkicks Mystery Spot, and more than half of you figured out the correct answer. Today’s entry is a bit harder.
At a corner near the center of the Google Maps image above there is a strange plaque celebrating a literary moment in history that could not have possibly seemed worthy of celebration when it occurred. Two famous writers visited a foreign city together, intending to rekindle their troubled and illicit romance, but the getaway went badly. One of the writers wanted to leave, but the other did not want this to happen, and shot the first writer. The wound was not fatal, except to their friendship.
Who are these two writers, and what is the name of this city? Once again, I hope you will venture a guess, and to keep anyone from giving the answer away (I know at least a few of you will guess it!) I will not publish any comments to this post until I reveal the answer tomorrow. Here are a few clues:
• Both writers are greatly respected today, but neither are widely read by the general public.
• A humorous reference to this couple’s difficult love affair can be found in a Bob Dylan song.
• One of these writers has a strong presence here on Literary Kicks.
That’s all the help you’ll get! Please post your guess as a comment below, and I’ll publish all the comments and post a longer explanation tomorrow.
UPDATE: The answer to this question is here.
23 Responses
Brussels! Brussels Brussels
Brussels! Brussels Brussels Brussels!! Verlaine and Rimbaud! (I think . . .)
Brussels! Verlaine and
Brussels! Verlaine and Rimbaud.
The Hotel Liege in Brussels,
The Hotel Liege in Brussels, where Verlaine shot Rimbaud.
Paul Verlaine and Artur
Paul Verlaine and Artur Rimbaud in Brussels?
there’s no way i can compare,
there’s no way i can compare, all them scenes to this affair
Ah, that would be Verlaine,
Ah, that would be Verlaine, of whom Dorothy Parker said “was always chasing Rimbauds.”
They had parted in England after Rimbaud, seeing Verlaine in the street, coming home from the market carrying two fishes in front of him at arms length, laughed and shouted out the window “Ce que tu as l’air con!” (“You really look like a dick!”). Within minutes, without a word, Verlaine was packed and gone.
Looking good on the responses
Looking good on the responses so far! I’ll publish them all tomorrow, and till then I’ll just say I’m glad to see that Litkicks readers know their stuff.
Man, you made this one easy!
Man, you made this one easy! Brussels, where Verlaine shot Rimbaud in the arm (wrist?).
That’s fantastic that they have a monument there. Visited Brussels some years ago, and would’ve gone to see it if I’d known.
Great Dylan line, too.
I think most of the great
I think most of the great literary love affairs tend to happen in France, and usually involves at least one French person.
I want to say Henry Miller and Anais Nin, but I don’t think they tried to rekindle anything.
I’d like to say Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, but I don’t think that’s it.
I’m going to guess it’s Verlaine and Rimbaud. However, if it is Miller and Nin, please let me save some face and say I almost guessed right.
Of course I could be totally wrong on all three.
Verlaine and Rimbaud in
Verlaine and Rimbaud in Brussels?
Verlaine and Rimbaud.
Verlaine and Rimbaud. Brussels.
The Great Gatsby one was much
The Great Gatsby one was much harder I think. Take one of your clues out. The one about the strong presence.
Verlaine! My favorite purple
Verlaine! My favorite purple poet drinking absinthe in the LitKicks icon. (Also Rimbaud. And Brussels.)
i think it may be burroughs
i think it may be burroughs and his wife?????? nope. he actually killed her. oh well. can’t make concerted guesses without the urge to google so…………
btw, last time, i had my entire unit at the hospital throwing in their guesses. I was right in the end………. but it actually got a lot of people talking…… fun thing to do : )
Verlaine and Rimbaud will
Verlaine and Rimbaud will make me lonesome when they go
Oh, and the city is Brussels.
Oh, and the city is Brussels. But you know that.
Right now, I’m thinking Ezra
Right now, I’m thinking Ezra Pound and T.S Eliot, and the only reason they popped into my mind was because of the Bob Dylan hint. “Ezra Pound and T.S Eliot fighting in the captain’s tower, while calypso singers laugh at them and fishermen hold flowers.”
This cannot be right, can it?
King Arthur and Little Johnny
King Arthur and Little Johnny Jewel in the magical Brussel Sprout Land.
Le derangement des toutes les sens, n’est-ce pas mon ami?
Rimbaud is quite a presence in Patti Smith’s new memoir.
I guess it is Brussels. The
I guess it is Brussels. The writers you are talking about are Pal Verlain and Arthur Rimaud, I guess.
I gave to say verlain and
I gave to say verlain and Rimbaud! But is it Paris?
Although i have to say, i
Although i have to say, i think a box of belgian chocolates would have been slightly more romantic than a shot in the wrist…
…i´m going for Rimbaud, Verlaine, in Brussels.
Arthur Rimbaud was shot by
Arthur Rimbaud was shot by Paul Verlaine in Brussels, seen on the picture with the Grand Place in its center
Rimbaud and Verlaine?
Rimbaud and Verlaine?