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The U.K. revives the literary salon

Literary salons, those 18th-century gatherings of writers who came together to engage in intellectual badinage, have been reborn in the 21st century, according to an article in the Guardian. One such salon, held monthly at the Soho House in London, attracts a mélange of established and up-and-coming writers who read their work and engage in discussions with each other and members of the public.

The group was established by the playwright Damian Barr, who felt there was a need for a space for writers and book lovers to discuss, inspire, goad or cajole each other as they did in the salons of past eras. “It’s an Enlightenment idea. You can talk to people, flirt, get drunk and still feel you’ve done something meaningful,” said Barr, adding that the salon was a modern twist on the 18th-century model.

Although the uninitiated might conceive of literary salons as dour, buttoned-down affairs, the modern salons apparently have a fairly boisterous atmosphere, eschewing propriety and reverence for what author Giles Foden – a salon devotee – calls a combination of “a library, a bordello and a boxing ring.” However, according to Foden, the lively goings-on are not detrimental to literary ferment, in fact quite the opposite:

“It’s terrifically important that salons are back because writing is a solitary business, and yet the discussion of literature is really enlivened by face-to-face contact,” he said. “These are places where ideas emerge.”