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,…
Last week I wrote about Edgar Degas’ most renowned sculpture, La Petite danseuse de quatorze ans. Degas’ portrayals of 19th-century dancers give us a window into the lives of young female professionals—a circumstance that was exceedingly rare. Referred to as rats, these budding ballerinas played a secondary and less desirable…
Mention Paris, and people from around the world immediately conjure a mental image of the Eiffel Tower. Every year, 7 million visitors buy tickets to reach its upper levels where they can enjoy a breathtaking view of the ancient capital. Back in 1887, however, as construction of the monument was…
You’ve probably heard about the artificial intelligence chat robot called ChatGPT. Since its debut at the end of 2022, millions of people have used it to create documents, cull data, or simply talk with a new “friend”. ChatGPT’s language processing software is so conversational that the program seems to have…
This week I spent time translating a document for a friend whose grandfather fought in World War I. The document, issued by the French government, recognizes members of a United States Marine Regiment that helped defeat the Germans near the end of the war. There’s only one paragraph to translate.…
This summer I’m featuring a few guest posts from fellow francophile bloggers. Below you’ll find an interview that centers on the remarkable life of the Marquis de La Fayette. Known in the United States as Lafayette, the young French marquis played a pivotal role in helping America defeat the British…
On May 18, 1922, one of Paris’ grandest hotels was the site of a legendary dinner party. Pablo Picasso, Igor Stravinsky, Sergei Diaghilev, James Joyce, and Marcel Proust, were among the attendees. The evening is featured in a book, titled Proust at the Majestic: The Last Days of the Author…
Two of the things that Paris is known for are the river Seine, adorned by a series of 37 unique and magical bridges, and romance. In 1955, Dean Martin celebrated these iconic features in his hit song Under the Bridges of Paris. Martin’s emotive vocals attracted fans around the globe…
