The Beijing Bookworm

Beijing is also a city transitioning very quickly. The speed and the changes don't seem to faze Ms. Pearson, perhaps because she's bilingual and an old China hand. "Sure, in some ways things are more complicated – the tax laws are changing all the time and I have a lawyer and an accountant – but in some ways things are better because they're more systemized. You can work within the system and you know where you're going, plus there's a bigger variety now of everything, from food choices to foreigners walking through the door."

The pollution doesn't bother Ms. Pearson either. Flexible, she walks, cycles or drives to get around easily and avoids going places during peak hours. She did confide that her challenges regarding The Bookworm are generally human based but manageable. "Keeping good people is one of my problems," she said. "The Bookworm employs 30 people in Beijing; people come and go. And of course there are supply glitches: someone has to figure out what to do when no mascarpone is to be had in Beijing for tiramisu, but one learns to accommodate and bend. My life as the owner requires me to do more than host literary evenings. I spend a lot of time on researching books, contacting authors, speaking to publishing houses and communicating online with my partners in Chengdu and Suzhou." But Ms. Pearson said clearly that she does not view herself as a restaurateur or a librarian; "I'm just a person who wants to create a center in support of literature, of authors and interesting people, explorers and musicians."

This magnificent woman has done exactly that. Each year it gets easier because The Bookworm's international and domestic reputation expands, with the website becoming more sophisticated, the guest authors more renowned and erudite.

Meanwhile Alex the Sino-salonnierre continues transforming herself. Her magnanimous persona conveys shades of Gertrude Stein, a great dame known for her connections and friendly relations with brilliantly talented and artistic people at the center of contemporary art & social change, and she also gives off strong hints of Madame de Stael, another woman of unusual intellectual power who had the simple but profound gift of cultivating talent in others. Alexandra Pearson, like female salon keepers before her, follows Horace's definition of the aim of poetry: aut delectare aut produce est; to both please and educate.

Alex Pearson can be reached at books@beijingbookworm.com

(China.org.cn May 28, 2008)