Parisian Literary Salon

The light! The velvet air! Spring is eternally a time of rebirth and renewal- time to celebrate the richness of our lives here in this dancing city….now is the time to sign up for the Spring Salon: Midnight’s Children that commences the week of May 8th, meeting for 6 weeks. The first meeting will probably be on Thursday the 11th due to the endless stream of Monday holidays…not that I am complaining!

For those of you who have always wanted to do a Salon, this is a great one to dive into: Rushdie’s amazing work is difficult to access on your own, but witty and engaging when read with a hungry group of readers. We will share our knowledge of Modern Indian History, of all the various religions that are probed in the work, and of what it means to come of age in a culture that is tranforming itself- all of these discussions have immediate relevance in the world we live in right now.
Check out the “what we might read” section for more information about the book or email me with questions. To sign up, send me an email confirming your attendance and a deposit to reserve your place in the Salon of 25 euro (if this is your first Salon).
In other Salon news, the huge Ulysses journey continues its absurd and gigantic progress- many of the folks in those Salons are heading off for a weekend in Dublin to celebrate Bloomsday as a way to rejoice in the great work we have done together. The waters are still rocky and the one-eyed giants threaten…..but then gems break through as for example when Leopold Bloom reminds us of what is really life:
” Love, says Bloom. I mean the opposite of hatred.” (pg 432)

These are days of Manifs and buds, of pregnant pauses and long awaited rewards, of the first asparagus and final resolves…. Emily Dickinson wrote: “To live is so startling it leaves little time for anything else.” And she rarely left her house.
NOW the time to look towards the next Salon series- based on participant feedback, I will offer one of the following Salons starting May 8th to run for 6 weeks. The choice will be made based on participant commitment- which ever text has more sign ups, that will be the text we study. Please email me with your preference- and if both are interesting to you, please let me know that as well.
*Please email me your choice by the end of this week (April 7th) so I can announce the study by the 15th of April.
The two Ulysses Salons continue with amazing work and satisfaction- we may even head to Dublin for Bloomsday in June. I will certainly offer this work for study again- but the current success and incredible energy of the Salons is due to the participants…what a wild ride!
The poem at the end of this newsletter of course relates to Ulysses- at this point everything does- but also seems to me to speak to the struggle humans have always had- to hold the world in words, to make of the awesome state of existence a thing understandable, to control our journey through the application of language. Our struggle to know how to define God- and how violently this struggle enacts itself in human history- is one manifestation of this desire. Let me know what you think of the poem…and what else you are reading.

Midnight’s Children
- by Salman Rushdie
Monday Nights 8-10 PM: (to meet in the 14th on rue d’Alesia)

On the surface, Midnight’s Children recounts, directly and symbolically, the birth of India as a modern nation, shrugging off the last vestiges of colonialism in a mad burst of independence. But India is not one story, one people. The billowing of beliefs, languages, ethnic loyalties that occurred after the stroke of midnight on August 15th, 1947, is reflected in the experience of Rushdie’s main character, a boy named Saleem Sinai who is born at the same moment as the independent India. Rushdie weaves magic and history in a racing, mad narrative that addresses issues of identity, communalism and the imaginary homeland we all carry within ourselves.
Our study of the text will include background information on the history of India as well as various belief systems and how these are manifested in modern India. The group will do reflective writing on how place and culture define self as well as our journeys away from and into our inheritance.
East of Eden
- by John Steinbeck
Monday Nights 8-10 PM: (to meet in the 14th on rue d’Alesia)
I am enthralled with this text at the moment. John Steinbeck’s wide epic uses the Bible, the land and human relationships to explore the ugliness and greatness of the human heart. The characters are quite compelling and recognizable, the musings on human condition kept close to the action- this work is less directly didactic then Grapes of Wrath but asks similarly large questions about human suffering and choice. Our study of this text will look at the historical setting of the development of the West (of the US) as a place designed to create a new kind of hero as well as the lived experience of various doctrines of faith- in this case the Bible and Confucianism.

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Wyclif Practices the Art of Definition While
Walking to His Morning Class
A definition is a concise statement setting forth the nature
of the thing in question.
— Saint John of Damascus
The Fount of Knowledge, Chapter VIII

A door is an opening one goes in
or comes out of. A street is a map
for the feet to follow. Snow is
moisture frozen in white clusters
and falling through clouds. Clouds are
white, gray, or black patches
sewn into the fabric of sky. The sky is
not visible today. Neither is the sun.
The invisible is the visible
temporarily concealed, as God is
and has been for thirteen centuries now,
although His light is the light we walk in.
Walking is a form of movement
peculiar to man and taking him
away from some objects and towards others.
Thus I am walking from Balliol Hall
to St. Mary’s Cathedral, which is
a building where mass is sung
and lectures are given. Both are
made out of words. A word is
(according to the saint from Damascus)
a door behind which
the Spirit of Truth waits. And a door
is an opening one goes in or comes out of.
–From Thom Satterlee’s Burning Wyclif

Note:
John Wyclif (ca. 1324-1384) was born and raised in Northern England, perhaps near Richmond in Yorkshire. He attended and later taught at Oxford, becoming the University’s most renowned scholar during the latter half of the fourteenth century. His years coincided with the Black Death (1347-1350), a Papal Schism (begun in 1378), and the Peasants’ Revolt (1381). His writings and lectures inspired the first complete translation of the Bible into English and involved him in life-threatening controversies with Church authorities. Pope Gregory XI and Archbishop William Courtenay both condemned him.

Most of us recognize the name John Wyclif and associate it with the translation of the Latin Vulgate Bible into English. Admirers will add that Wyclif was one of the most prominent philosophers and theologians of the second half of the fourteenth century. Others will call him heretic for his condemnation of what he saw as corruption in the Catholic Church and especially for his attack on the Church’s doctrine of transubstantiation. If we want to know the facts of Wyclif’s life, we can consult an encyclopedia or biography. If we want to know John Wyclif, and maybe ourselves, we should read Thom Satterlee’s poetry collection Burning Wyclif.
— Robert A. Fink, from the Introduction

I write a little every day, without hope and without despair.

Isak Dinesen

I borrowed this from the announcement (see below) for the Yoga/Creative Writing Workshop- one of those bits that just struck me as apropos today. I think I have been subconsciously holding off the next Salon newsletter as I was hoping to call it the Spring newsletter- but Spring at the moment seems like a wistful fantasy…and talking about the weather has become as tedious and useless as struggling against it. So I am learning to like freezing.

Ulysses continues to be a wonderful study- with a curious and creative group that allows each of us to understand and delve deeply into the brilliance of the work. Joyce challenges us –always- but the work is satisfying. One or both Salons will continue studying the text at the pace of one episode a week through June.

The End of April will be the start of the next series- and NOW is when I would love to hear requests…possibilities include East of Eden, a Faulkner, George Eliot, Virginia Woolf, Salman Rushdie….others? There has been a request for a work that is less…obviously challenging but still offers a rich read- Middlesex for example or a Carson McCullers. Let me know what interests you- and remember- the Salon is decided by majority vote- so make sure I know what you are interested in!

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

1. Writing & Stretching: Dashka Slater, an inspiring writer from California and Julie Rappaport have offered to do a Yoga & Creative Writing Workshop here over the summer if there is sufficient interest. The date is not yet set but if you are interested, let me know and I will put you on the mailing list.
2. Music- I was lucky to see Jobic perform recently- pure pleasure.
3. Upcoming Events from the Fragment list- readings
4. Children’s Book Contest Reminder…

1. Yoga and Creative Writing

Twin Practices: A Workshop for Writers & Yogis

I write a little every day, without hope and without despair.

Isak Dinesen

This workshop will combine asana, breathing, and writing exercises to help writers:

-create a clear intention for their writing

-stimulate the imagination and find their narrative

-open the senses and access the emotions

-silence the inner critic and write freely

The workshop is open to writers of all levels, from beginners who want to establish a regular writing practice to experienced writers who need to break through to a new level. Whether your medium is poetry, novel, memoir, short story or journal you will find value in the relationship between yoga and writing. No yoga experience necessary, but the yoga will be challenging enough for all levels adapted to your needs.

Workshop Leaders:

Dashka Slater is the recipient of a 2004 Creative Writing Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. She is the author of two children’s books and a novel, The Wishing Box, which the Los Angeles Times named one of the best books of 2000. She is also an award-winning journalist whose work appears frequently in such magazines as Mother Jones, Sierra, Legal Affairs, and San Francisco. She has been practicing yoga for ten years. You can read more about her at www.dashkaslater.com.

Julie Rappaport is a yoga teacher, yoga therapist and writer who has been teaching yoga for fifteen years. She is intrigued by the links between contemplative practices such as yoga and meditation, and creative disciplines like writing, music and dance and has explored these links for many years. Julie is the author of the Tarcher/Penguin book, 365 Yoga, Daily Meditations and she has also written for online health site, Oxygen Media and others, She is currently immersed in writing fiction. Find her at www.yogabliss.com.

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LES 7 LEZARDS

Mercredi 15 mars

22h00

1er set: DUO Jobic Le Masson + Peter Giron

2ème set: + John Betsch TRIO

Les 7 Lézards

10, rue des Rosiers -75004 Paris

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**16 March at 7 PM The literary journal Upstairs at Duroc invites you to a reading by the members of its Editorial Board. Come hear new Poetry & Fiction by the hard-working, fun-loving & slightly crazy people who put together the magazine, & stay after the reading to chat over a glass of wine. AT: WICE, 20 Boulevard du Montparnasse, 75015 Paris. Metro Duroc/Falguiere

**March 21 - 7 p.m. Cara Black kicks off the NEW, Free WICE Writers on Writing Series. A moderated open discussion between the writer & the attendees & after the event, stop by the Red Wheelbarrow table who’ll be on-hand for book sales. Of the event, Black says: “I’d love to share my experiences of writing, especially my first book which took 3 ½ years to write, Murder in the Marais. The idea grew into a book after hearing the experiences of my friend’s mother, a hidden Jewish child in the Marais, & her survival in Occupied Paris in WW2. I never planned to write a mystery….” Black’s series, the Aimée Leduc Investigations, take place in the different arrondissements of Paris. She has been nominated for the Anthony & Macavity award. 70 Blvd du Montparnasse, Metro-Duroc PARIS

**22 March at 7pm “The Place at the End of the World” Reading & Booksigning by Janine Di Giovanni Giovanni is a senior foreign correspondent for The Times and contributing editor for Vanity Fair. She is the author of “Against the Stranger” and “The Quick and the Dead.” AT: The Red Wheelbarrow Bookstore, 22, rue St Paul, 75004 Paris France M° St Paul Tel: 01 48 04 75 08, red.wheelbarrow@wanadoo.fr or www.theredwheelbarrow.com

**23 March at 7 pm Denis Hirson presents & reads from the second installment of his Youth Memoirs in South-Africa: We Walk Straight So You Better Get Out The Way Denis Hirson read the first part of I Remember King Kong (The Boxer) at the Village Voice in March 2005 enchanting us all with his incantatory & witty Narrative Poem. AT: The Village Voice Bookshop, 6 rue Princesse 75006 Paris. M° Mabillon/St Germain d P. Tél. : 01 46 33 36 47 www.villagevoicebookshop.com

Read about these and more Paris events listing online at: www.inparisnow.com

4th Annual Red Wheelbarrow Creative Writing Contest

Deadline for stories 1 April, 2006

Open to all children, ages 5-18, who write in English and live in Paris or one of the surrounding suburbs

Awards Announced at the Awards Party in May

Details at: http://www.theredwheelbarrow.com/contest.html

As we roll back into life in Paris- here is the official announcement for the Salons commencing the week of February 27th. Enrollment is first come, first serve. The two Ulysses Salons are almost full as most of the participants are continuing from January-but as always, slots may shift so if you are really keen, let me know and I will keep you updated as to openings.
East of Eden Monday Nights 8-10 PM: (meets in the 14th on rue d’Alesia)

I am enthralled with this text at the moment. John Steinbeck’s wide epic uses the Bible, the land and human relationships to explore the ugliness and greatness of the human heart. The characters are quite compelling and recognizable, the musings on human condition kept close to the action- this work is less directly didactic then Grapes of Wrath but asks similarly large questions about human suffering and choice. Our study of this text will look at the historical setting of the development of the West (of the US) as a place designed to create a new kind of hero as well as the lived experience of various doctrines of faith- in this case the Bible and Confucianism.
Currently open to enrollment.
First meeting Monday Feb. 27th

Ulysses Tuesday Afternoons 2-4 PM (meets near Trocadero)

We will continue our study of this fundamental text from the Hades episode forward. Participants have described their study of Ulysses as alternately the hardest text they ever read- and the most extraordinary. The Salon works to create a forum to collect all the ideas and insights of the participants towards a fuller reading than one would experience reading this work alone. We have gathered speed from our first few meetings in January as we become more comfortable with Joyce’s far reaching references and allusions- and have found his humor and playfulness to ease the way. I believe that the only way to read this fundamental work is with a group of curious and committed folks- so here is your chance. If you are interested in joining this study at this time, I will work to catch you up through the first 100 pages that we studied in January.
Currently two or three spaces available
First meeting Tuesday February 28th

Ulysses Tuesday Nights 8-10 PM: (meets in the 14th on rue d’Alesia)

We will continue our study of this fundamental text from the Hades episode forward. Participants have described their study of Ulysses as alternately the hardest text they ever read- and the most extraordinary. The Salon works to create a forum to collect all the ideas and insights of the participants towards a fuller reading than one would experience reading this work alone. We have gathered speed from our first few meetings in January as we become more comfortable with Joyce’s far reaching references and allusions- and have found his humor and playfulness to ease the way. I believe that the only way to read this fundamental work is with a group of curious and committed folks- so here is your chance. If you are interested in joining this study at this time, I will work to catch you up through the first 100 pages that we studied in January.
Currently one space available
First meeting Tuesday February 28th

The only problem with the amazing work of studying Ulysses is that it limits the choices of other works to be offered. If you are interested in participating in a Salon and don’t find the choices compelling at this time, please email me and let me know what work does interest you- either from the list on the website or a work that you have had in your mind to read deeply. I do keep this information and consult the requests when I put together the next series.
Happy reading-
Toby

January Salons start NEXT WEEK
Beloved Monday Nights 8-10 PM first meeting January 9th
Ulysses Tuesday Afternoons 2-4 PM first meeting January 10th
UlyssesTuesday Evenings 8-10 PM first meeting January 10th
As of January 5th
Beloved Evening Salon has room for 3 more participants
Ulysses Afternoon Salon is FULL
Ulysses Evening Salon has room for 2 more participants

I have 25 people on the list for this event- please email me if you have not done so already to reserve a place. See the original posting about this event for further information.

At the final Tuesday Portrait Salon, we discussed (thank you Chris!) another Salon possibility: One book, one meeting. This would address those who have wanted to do a Salon and have not been able to commit to a full six week- or who would like a less…formal? intense? study- or simply more opportunities to read and discuss great works. I am thinking this through and would love any feedback (either email me or BETTER YET use the website forum so all can see the developments & ideas) and to know if this appeals to folks.

1. Beloved Monday Nights:
I think this work is so important- certainly for its subject matter, but also becasue Morrison’s style and structure teach the reader to approach a text in a fresh, innovative way- and the language is beautiful. There is a sublime element to that which is grotesque- the study of this text will develop this idea. If this is your first Salon, remember your inscription is insured with a deposit of 25 euro (send a check…). If you have previously done a Salon, your email committment is enough. I hope to send out a quick confirmation to those I have as currently registered- please watch for this.

2. Ulysses Tuesday Afternoons (at Nanette’s, near Trocadero) Chris Bart has gallantly and courageously volunteered- with the help of Jeanette- to outline all or parts of the Odyssey in preparation of our plunge- you should have recieved these notes by now- please email me if you have not.

3. Ulysses Tuesday Evenings- (at rue d’Alesia) I appreciate Jeanette’s description of starting the reading gingerly- dive in, keep going and you will find the world of Bloom and Stephen washing over you…many of the connections are made beneath the surface (of language, of consciousness…).

For all of these Salons, I am trying to find creative ways of squeezing 5 sessions out of our January time- I will send details along as soon as I have figured this out, also of course opening notes and reading schedules. When my computer is happy again. Or by bike or carrier pigeon.

TEXT AVAILABILITY: Our Salon conversations are facilitated by everyone having a common text: The Red Wheelbarrow Bookstore is the source I use- they currently have the Ulysses text on hand; Beloved to arrive early next week.
Red Wheelbarrow
22 rue Saint Paul 75004 01.48.04.75.08 Metro: St. Paul, Sully Morland, Pont Marie

…January only offers four weeks between school holidays- eek. So we need to think about how to use those weeks in a way that will promote maximum enjoyment…

Beloved by Toni Morrison
(please see website for description)
*this is one of those books I think everyone should read- but would not recommend reading alone- not so much for difficulty as for emotional content- this is a very powerful and evocative text.
Monday Evenings: 8-10 PM (on rue d’Alesia)
Text available at The Red Wheelbarrow Bookstore by Dec. 16th

Odyssey by Homer
To understand our evolution into our contemporary conception of the heroic, one must start with the original hero. As Clifton Fadiman argues:

“…But the Odyssey is not tragic. It stresses not our limitations but our possibilities. Its theme is not courage in the face of death, but intelligence in the face of hardship. It announces another of the great themes: the power of intelligence, a theme to which we moderns readily respond. Though Odysseus is brave enough, his heroism is of the mind….”

There is a wonderful new translation available by Edward McCrorie- and of course, the study of the Odyssey would help lay the groundwork for….
Schedule Choices: Tuesday Afternoons (probably near Trocadero) or Monday Afternoons (rue d’Alesia)

Ulysses by James Joyce
There is a strong argument for studying this intimidating text- and I believe the only way to study it is with a group of hungry, curious readers who all contribute to evoking meaning. Our study for this short session would encompass the first 100 pages- giving participants a taste of the work to decide if they would like to continue. After two rich Salon studies of A Portrait of the Artist… , I know that any time spent studying Joyce leaves one a better reader- a broader thinker- even if all the references, repetitions, epiphanies and allusions are not understood. Now, to the Why do it? Again, Clifton Fadiman (thanks Dave Frey!)

1. It is probably the most completely organized, thought out work of literature since The Divine Comedy.
2. It is the most influential novel (call it that for the lack of a better term) published in our century. The influence is indirect- through other writers.
3. It is one of the most original works of the imagination in the language. It broke not one trail, but hundreds.
4. There is some disagreement here, but the prevailing view is that it is not “decadent’ or “immoral” or “pessimistic”. Like the work of many of the supreme artists…it proposes a vision of life as seen by a powerful mind that rises above the partial, the sentimental, and the self-defensive.
5. Unlike its original, the Odyssey, it is not an open book. It yields its secrets only to those willing to work, just as Beethoven’s last quartets reveal new riches the longer they are studied.

I offer this Salon a bit as a test- if folks feel stirred and inspired by the work, I will certainly continue- but the Salon exists to stir joy and understanding into the act of reading and to do so in a dynamic community of other readers- if Ulysses does not do this for us, there are many other works that await….( East of Eden top of the list for March).
Schedule Choices: Tuesday Afternoons or Tuesday Evenings (rue d’Alesia)

A reminder if you have not already signed up- the reading is filling up- if you have sent me a request and have not recieved a confirmation, please re-send- I have not been keeping on top of my correspondence….

The Alesian Literary Salon has a rare opportunity: an intimate reading and conversation with this highly acclaimed author on the occasion of her publication of Tete a Tete- the literary biography of Sartre and de Beauvoir. I have just finished the book and found it a delicious read- I learned about the two great minds featured in the text as well as the experience of truly living the life of the mind. There are comments and reviews of Tete a Tete on the website- I encourage you to read it if you have a chance before Hazel’s presentation- although I think you will enjoy the event even if you have not done so- there will be books on sale there. The seating is limited to 35 people and I am advertising this event to the Salon list first- but as of December 10th I will open up the invite to a wider audience- so please reserve now. There is no cost- maybe a donation for the wine and nibbles that will be provided. You can buy a copy before the reading at The Red Wheelbarrow…

Date: Friday January 6th 2006
Time: Reading & Discussion from 7-8:15, reception afterwards
Place: Galerie Deborah Zafman, 48 rue Chapon 75003 (near the Pompidou Center)

RSVP: Use this website’s contact form