Escape to the French Seashore, Art of Sandrine Torredemer

Last week, I wrote about the importance of art during times of oppression, focusing on how art has the power to expose society’s flaws and portray a better world. However, art is also a source of pleasure-laden escape. I recently discovered a French textile artist, Sandrine Torredemer, whose work provides…
Art’s Importance in Times of Oppression, A Revolutionary’s Take

Until reading Barbara Kingsolver’s fictional novel La Lacuna, I would never have envisioned Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky, French surrealist author André Breton, and Mexican muralist and painter Diego Rivera as part of the same squad. Their commitment to Marxism drew these three extraordinary men together and, for a brief period,…
Greetings From the Hot and Sunny South of South

I’ve been traveling for the last two weeks in a warm and welcoming country, internationally renowned for its beautiful gulf. People speak Spanish here, which has rendered my language skills largely useless until yesterday’s lunch when I sat across from a charming French couple and was able to chat en…
French Film and Poetry to Lift the Spirit

One of my favorite French films is Les Saveurs du palais, the English version is Haute Cuisine. The movie is based on the life of Danièle Mazet-Delpeuch, the first-ever female chef of a French president. The trailblazing Malzet-Delpeuch was François Mitterand’s private chef from 1988 to 1990. In addition to culinary expertise,…
Why I Remain Ever Grateful to the NIH
Marjane Satrapi’s Woman, Life, Freedom: Tyranny and a Feminist Revolution

One of the contenders for this year’s Oscar for Best International Film is The Seed of the Sacred Fig. Secretly filmed in Tehran, the fictional screenplay takes place during the weeks of protest that followed the nonfictional death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian woman who died in police custody…
Baraye and The Power of Music To Buoy a Cultural Revolution

People worldwide will be tuning into the 2025 Grammy Awards on Sunday night. With my kids now out of the house, I’m no longer in the loop regarding this year’s list of nominees. However, this week I want to resurface a Grammy-winning ballad from 2023—Baraye, by Iranian singer-songwriter Shervin Hajipour.…