I’m writing this post from the deck of a cedar A-frame, 8400 feet above sea level. My kids and husband Andy, are here with me in southern Utah. I’ll characterize our location as the middle of nowhere, roughly equal distance to Bryce Canyon and Zion national parks. We’ve been doing…
As France prepares to welcome athletes and tourists from around the world, many French people are hanging onto their hats. While thousands have benevolently volunteered to help out, opportunists abound, exploring every angle to advance their personal gain. It’s been 100 years since the games last took place in Paris…
If you’ve ever taken a course in French literature, whether taught in English or French, you may well have read one of Victor Hugo’s most famous poems, Demain dès l’aube. The poem first appeared in 1856—one of seventeen compositions that Hugo dedicated to his daughter, Léopoldine, who drowned in a…
Like most graduates of the University of Michigan, I’m well aware of certain remarkable people who have attended my alma mater. Stories and sightings of celebrities like Madonna, Tom Brady, Arthur Miller, Gerald Ford, and James Earl Jones reside in the communal knowledge space of Michigan alumni. Then there are…
As an American francophile, I’m fortunate to live in a town that supports several French conversation groups. Two of my favorites are led by French women who have spent decades teaching their native language. These ladies not only know their subject matter inside and out, they’re also lively moderators who…
While reading Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast last year, I began to seriously ponder the amount of time the Internet sucks from my life. Learning about this great American author’s early days as a starving artist in Paris, I was struck by the simplicity of his existence. With a bare minimum…
This Sunday marks exactly one year since I learned of the American artist Faith Ringgold while roving around Paris. After returning home, I wrote about the special exhibit at Le Musée Picasso that introduced me to her work. She died last week at age 93. So this week, I thought…
