In the fall of 2011, I signed up for a French literature course at Eastern Michigan University. I loved the class and am indebted to our professor, Benjamin Palmer, who improved my understanding of great literature and its relationship to history. I enthusiastically enrolled in a second semester that winter…
I’m not a big fan of winter. Living in Michigan, in a drafty old house, I’m perpetually cold from November through April. Yet, I appreciate the month of January. The days already seem noticeably longer and there is snow on the ground, helping to brighten the season’s gloom. I also…
My favorite Christmas story is A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens. Every year I watch or read some version of this classic tale. Last week, I began wondering if there might be a similarly cherished, yuletide parable from France. I tracked down a dozen acclaimed stories, including two by Molière,…
If you’re like me, you enjoy giving books as presents. Lately, I’ve been combing through various book blogs and lists on Goodreads to determine what I should buy for whom this year. In doing so, the thought occurred to me that I should put together my own list of sensational…
In 1968, The Sunday Times in London ran a competition to translate the poem Spleen, by the famous French poet Charles Baudelaire. Upon learning of the contest, Nicholas Moore, who had once been one of Britain’s most celebrated poets, decided to have a little fun and also prove a point.…
Sunday, November 7, marks what would have been the 108th birthday of Nobel Prize winner, Albert Camus. During World War II, Camus joined the French Resistance, a movement dedicated to overthrowing the Germans. Camus lent his genius to the clandestine effort by working as a journalist and underground newspaper editor.…
For a period of 15 days at the end of every summer, Perpignan, France hosts one of the world’s most prestigious photojournalism festivals. Photographers from around the globe come to Visa pour l’Image to exhibit their work and immerse themselves in the work of their peers. Galleries spring up across…
We all love underdogs: the urban breakdancer that one day makes it on Broadway; the business school dropout that becomes a millionaire; the single parent who takes on the school board and wins; the whistleblower who exposes corporate or governmental corruption. Yet few of us have the stamina to undertake…
