Why Lisbon is great for writers
Bookstores, great coffee and my meet-up
It’s been almost two years now and I’ve started thinking about the importance of community. So many people I know are disappearing for the relatively mild Portuguese winter in search of sunnier climes and I’ll be down on the friend-front. That transience is a part of living abroad, I guess. It'’s what keeps the city fresh and interesting, but it will be tough to endure in winter. At the moment in Lisbon it’s a balmy 18 degrees but come January, the temperature drops to single digits for around two weeks. Oh, and did you know that the average Portuguese home isn’t equipped with central heating? No radiators in my gaff, people! So yeah, winter in this country definitely has its downsides but perhaps it’s time to grind. Oh and I have a press trip to the States so I’ll be dipping out, too…
Anyway, because I am a social butterfly, and because I need to get this novel completed, I’ve decided to start a writing community here in Lisbon.
I’m hosting a meet up for writers and creatives on Thursday 15th at 7pm at Ippolito Maciste - and I can’t wait. It’s for all to attend but there’s a special focus on POC attendees and writing. Ippolito is a cute wine bar which feels like someone’s living room and they’ll be plenty of good wine, good vibes and some cute creative prompts to get us all mingling and chatting! So please spread the word and come along if it sounds like a bit of you.
Ler Devagar bookstore
It got me thinking how Lisbon is actually a city steeped in literary history and how it’s an amazing place to live as a writer. This weekend I went to Ler Devagar (which translates as ‘slowly reading’ in Portuguese). It’s a gorgeous bookstore, with high walls filled up to the ceiling with books, a record shop and bar in the back, and most memorably, a giant sculpture of a bicycle floating over the front entrance. There’s a decent selection of English language books, plenty of photo opps and a range of cultural events taking place throughout the year.
Coffee-lovers and first-timers to the city also love A Brasileira, which opened in 1905 and is the city’s oldest coffee shop. It’s also where one of Portugal’s most renowned writers, Fernando Pessoa, used to hang out. A Brasileira has ornate gold finish throughout and is always full. It’s situated on the shopping high street of Chiado and is a great place to wile away an afternoon with a book. It’s actually one of the first spots where I ever got a coffee. I remember taking a seat during the Christmas lockdown of 2020 (along with Jasper) and ordering a slice of chocolate cake and cafe pingado (espresso with milk) while reading Yaa Gyasi’s Transcendent Kingdom. I remember someone asking me, not for the first time, about Jasper’s slender physique. (There’s few greyhounds here in Portugal and his stature still provokes shock and amazement in these Lisbon streets on a near-weekly basis).
Also in Chiado is Bertrand, the world’s oldest bookstore, founded in Lisbon by two French brothers in 1732. I’d never heard of it either. But if you doubt the credentials, never fear because the shop actually has a Guinness World Records certificate at the door confirming its status as the oldest operating bookshop on the planet.
Ler Devagar
A few hours away in Porto, there’s also the Lello bookstore which was said to have served as J.K. Rowling’s inspiration for Harry Potter, and there’s a couple of English language bookstores I have yet to check out here in Lisbon. Much to marinade on for writers.
Anyway all this is to say that I feel really lucky to be drawing inspiration from such a bookish city as I get to grips with editing my first long-form creative piece. I’m having fun! It’s taxing but not in the same way writing Raceless was. To be honest I just feel lucky to be able to dedicate so much time to writing about my imaginary friends instead of my personal trauma. And I hope to connect with lots more writers and thinkers this month and going into 2023.
Things I’m loving in Lisbon this week:
Besides the bookstore visits I’ve been lying fairly low this December. I’m just back from a press trip to Bermuda and a fun visit to NYC (post on that - and getting into travel writing - coming soon) but I headed to my favourite brunch spot, Antu, in Alfama for a gifted meal (Tiktok content pending) with a friend. It’s a sprawling three-storey building sandwiched between Portuguese homes and with a stunning courtyard under a canopy of green vegetation. It’s another great spot to get lost in a book and the food is also delicious. Get the cauliflower bites and the octopus.
Things I’ve created recently
This Lonely Planet piece on my recent, and extremely dreamy, writing assignment to Bermuda.
This TikTok on my favorite cocktail bars to enjoy in Lisbon.
This Guardian You Be The Judge column about two friends who struggle to keep in touch now one of them has moved abroad
This Instagram reel on Bermuda facts
Reading Rosewater
Things I’m reading
Rosewater by Liv Little. This is Liv’s fiction debut - although you’d never guess. It follows Elsie, a queer poet and bartender in London who is stuck in a state of financial, romantic and spiritual inertia. Flitting between partners and evicted from her south London home, she’s desperate to fix her life, but first she has to forge her own path. Rosewater captures so many elements of being a young Londoner, fuelled by nothing but hope, romance and tequila. The dialogue is so raw and real it practically leaps off the page. Loving it so far!
Things I’m watching
I stayed in this weekend and binged White Lotus, series 1. It’s an ingenious satire of class and wealth privilege, set in Hawaii and following the lives of several disgustingly spoilt American guests as they ruin the lives of the staff around them, and eventually, each other. My novel is shaped by some travel elements and White Lotus well and truly whet the creative whistle again when I was stuck in a rut. Series 2 however? Nah, not a patch on the first…
How have you found Lisbon for writing, reading or relaxation? And don’t forget the meet-up on Thursday 15th at 7pm at Ippolito Maciste!