If you thought that poetry had lost its power or that twitter was just a fad for young people - look again.
To sum up in one word all Mitt Romney's changes of position, someone coined "Romnesia". Twitter has, in an instant, transformed itself into the world's largest poetry slam, as tweeters (twitternauts? twits?) rival each other in ingeniosity.
Continue reading "Romnesia: the power of one poetic word " »
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In a two-year study, a team of French researchers led by Professor Gilles-Eric Séralini found that rats fed Monsanto’s “Roundup Ready” corn developed significantly more tumors than a control group not fed GM corn. The rats fed a GM diet also developed tumors that appeared earlier and behaved more aggressively, and died sooner than rats in the control group.
The Monsanto corporation has been orchestrating a public relations campaign to downplay and discredit the results, pointing out that the species of rat used is prone to tumors and that its own studies showed no problem.
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In a La Tribune opinion piece, Jean-Yves Lefevre points out the oddity of rising financial markests in a time of economic crisis. Why is this? he asks. Can it be that traders really believe ECB president Mario Draghi's nonsense about the Euro being "saved"? Look, he says, at how much European debt is out there. Why there's simply no way that the ECB could intervene effectively, even if it wants to.
As proof, he offers a table.
Continue reading "How much debt from Europe's PIIGS falls due within next three years?" »
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The French health care system is not perfect, but it is very, very good. It covers basically everyone, lets you choose your doctors, and either reimburses or pays up front a large portion of all necessary care - including outstanding coverage of major health catastrophes. A single payer system, its administrative costs are low.
Continue reading "Love letter to the French Health Care System: Part One" »
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Authors on Authors
This week, poet Kate Noakes talks with Lisa Burkitt about becoming a writer, the importance of learning, and the passage from poetry to novel.
Kate Noakes is a prize-winning and widely published poet who set up Boomslang Poetry to facilitate poetry readings and workshops in the UK. Kate’s first collection, Ocean to Interior, was published by Mighty Erudite Press in December 2007 and Kate’s second collection, The Wall Menders, is published by Two Rivers Press in 2009.
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Continue reading "Paris: 7 Creative Writing Classes at WICE Starting in October!" »
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FESTIVAL AMERICA : SEPTEMBER 20-23, 2012
Festival America ranks with the best literary events in Paris - even though it takes place in the nearby town of Vincennes! Top authors from the Americas are invited every two years for a series of talks, discussions, readings and artistic events for three days in the beautiful eastern suburb of Vincennes. Readers have a unique chance to meet their favorite writers. And writers have a wonderful place to exchange views about the craft. Talks are usually in English with simultaneous translations. Pulitzer and Nobel prize winning authors answer questions from the audience. Gawkers chat and sip coffee in a slightly quieter version of Paris.
This is one of my all time favorite events and I personally encourage all lovers of literature to attend!
Continue reading "Terrific literary event near Paris : Festival America in Vincennes" »
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This month news from the Paris Literary Prize, Festival America, Michael Larsen, Elizabeth Pomona, Cathy Altman Nocquet, Alice Boatwright, Joanna Biggar, Stephen Clarke, Marie Houzelle, Jane Handell, Noel Riley Fitch, the PAN Art Show, Russell Shorto, Joanna Biggar, Stee Haberman, Spoken Word, Lex Paulson, Stephen Clarke? Mary Duncan, Mel Chase, and much, much more. (Update ongoing....)
NEW INTERVIEWS WITH AUTHORS
Richard Grant, author of God's Middle Finger: Into the Lawless Heart of the Sierra Madre, talks with Dominique Godrèche,
Janet Hulstrand, educator, author, and founder of Writing from the Heart offered in Essoyes, France talks with journalist Pamela Leavy on teaching, coaching and the writer's craft
Stephen Clarke on French history, Paris bookshops and Paul West's debt to DSK
Graphic designer Lydia D'moch on creating an original book cover
NEW BOOKS, BLOGS, SUBMISSIONS
Alice Boatwright's Collateral Damage made Small Press Distribution's bestseller list for July and August!
Cathy Altman Nocquet's Writing Outside The Lines is now the number one top rated language arts ebook for kids on amazon!
Steve Haberman's murder mystery set in WWII Paris, Murder Without Pity, has just been released as an ebook!
Mary Duncan's excellent Paris Writers' Group now has a new website! Check it out here.
Submissions close for the 10,000 euro Paris Literary Prize for best novella on September 15!
Spoken Word has launched a call for submissions for their Winter Issue. Deadline September 30. For more, please see Spoken Word.
LITERARY EVENTS IN PARIS
5 SEPTEMBER: RON RASH, SIGNING (4PM-4.20PM)Ron Rash's story collection, Burning Bright, won the 2010 Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award and his novel, Serena, was a New York Times bestseller. The movie based on Serena will premiere in Cannes next May. @ Shakespeare and Company
9 September 19h30 MOVING PARTS PRESENTS: Nathalie Bassand's "La Transaction" followed by Florian Rebeyroll's "Danseur de Cruauté." In French. AT: Carr's Pub, Carr's Pub & Restaurant, 1 rue du Mont Thabor, 75001 Paris (métro Tuileries)
10 SEPTEMBER: 7pm NOEL RILEY FITCH, RICK TULKA, JOHN BAXTER will discuss the role of the Paris Cafe on art and literature @ Shakespeare and Company
10 September 20h onward: SpokenWord Open mic in English, open to all languages. Hang out in the bar from 8pm, poetry underground. From 9pm to midnight. Spoken word : 5 mins. 2 rounds between 9pm and midnight. AT: Chat Noir, 76 rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud, 75011. Métro Parmentier/Couronnes. http://spokenwordparis.blogspot.com/
11 September, 6:30 pm Marie Houzelle and Jane Handel to read from "Hortense on Tuesday Night" and "The Way You Looked at Me" from the Best Paris Stories anthology in a special event to celebrate the PAN Art Exhibition. Au Bon Coin - Annex 2, 29 rue Montcalm, 75018 Paris.
The PAN Art Show is being held in the annex 2 to the Au Bon Coin cafe,
29 rue Montcalm, 18th. Metros: Jean Joffre or Guy Moquet. The annex is
diagonally across the street from the cafe.
PAN ART SHOW Come delight in the cozy, casual gallery in Montmartre from September 7 through September 15, 2012 - 11 am to 7 pm every day. Or better yet, join the Artists for the opening or closing parties: Vernissage: Friday, September 7, 2012 - 7 - 10 pm; Finissage: Saturday, September 15, 2012 - 4 - 8 pm
Wed 12 September 2012 19h30 Evenings with an Author: Russell Shorto. Director of the John Adams Institute in Amsterdam and a contributing writer at The New York Times Magazine, Shorto has published four books in nine languages, including Descartes’ Bones and The Island at the Center of the World AT: American Library in Paris,10 rue du Général Camou, 75007 Paris, Metro Alma-Marceau or Ecole Militaire @ The American Library i n Paris
DON'T FORGET TO REGISTER TO VOTE FROM ABROAD!
REGISTER AT https://www.votefromabroad.org/
13 September at 7 pm Joanna Biggar will present and sign her book That Paris Year about five young Americans in the junior year abroad at the Sorbonne. To reserve please contact books(at)whsmith(dot)fr with 'Joanna Biggar Event RSVP' as the message's subject @ WH Smith Bookstore in Paris
15 September Submissions for the Paris Literary Prize end September 15, 2012. See site for details. 10,000 euro prize. This outstanding contest for the best novella is sponsored by Shakespeare and Company and the De Groot Foundation.
15 and 16 September Journées du Patrimoine !
17 September 20h onward: SpokenWord Paris: Open mic in English, open to all languages.
18 September 19h30 The Poetry Hour: Homage to Josephine Hart. Sinéad Cusack, Marianne Faithfull, Bob Geldof and Charlotte Rampling read William Butler Yeats. Admission free (in the courtyard) - seating can not be guaranteed - reservation recommended in English. An open air event. AT: Centre Culturel Irlandais, 5 rue des Irlandais, 75005 Paris. RER: Luxembourg
18 September 19h30 Evenings with an Author: Peter Steiner earned his living first as a professor of German and then as a cartoonist for The New Yorker. He wrote his first novel when he was nearly sixty. His novels take place in the Loire Valley where he spends part of each year. The Resistance is his fourth. AT: American Library in Paris,10 rue du Général Camou, 75007 Paris, Metro Alma-Marceau or Ecole Militaire
18 September 19h IVY Writers Paris invites you to a bilingual reading by French poet and translator Martin Richet who will be reading with visiting Canadian and American authors Oana Avasilichioaei and Mina Pam Dick! AT: Le Next, !7 rue Tiquetonne 75002 Paris, metro Etienne Marcel/RER Les Halles
21 SEPTEMBER: PHILOSOPHERS IN THE LIBRARY: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY, LEX PAULSON. A veteran of the Obama campaign and author of the "Applied Classics" series, Paulson will explore the subject with the help of two illuminating texts, Polybius's Histories and Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America. What light do these ancient texts shed on the campaign of 2012? Can American democracy, for all its dysfunction, still be saved? AT: Shakespeare & Co., 37 rue de la Bûcherie, Paris 5ème. M° St Michel
22 September YA Fiction Author Signing with Josephine Angelini, Amy Plum, Tara Hudson, Tessa Gratton and Anna Carey AT: WH Smith 248 Rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris. Métro: Concorde
23 September 19h30 MOVING PARTS PRESENTS: Mel Chase's "Ménage à Trois" (3 one-acts in English). AT: Carr's Pub, Carr's Pub & Restaurant, 1 rue du Mont Thabor, 75001 Paris (métro Tuileries)
****** 20-23 September Festival America *******:
A don't miss mega literary event with dozens of major English-speaking authors held every two years in Vincennes. Writers, this is a terrific event! See site for more.
24 September 20h onward: SpokenWord Open mic in English, open to all languages. AT: Chat Noir, 76 rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud, 75011. Métro Parmentier/Couronnes. http://spokenwordparis.blogspot.com/
25 September 19h Stephen Clarke will present sign his ninth book, The Merde Factor. His first novel, A Year in the Merde, originally became a word of mouth hit in Paris in 2004, and is now a bestseller. AT: WH Smith 248 Rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris. Métro: Concorde @ Shakespeare and Company
27 September 19h Writers Workshop at WH Smith: Literary agents Michael Larsen and Elizabeth Pomona will discuss the 3 keys to becoming a successful writer. Space is limited, so reserve your seat now! To RSVP, please send an email with your complete contact information to books(at)whsmith(dot)fr with 'Writers Workshop Reservation' as the message's subject. You will receive a confirmation. AT: WH Smith 248 Rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris. Métro: Concorde
DON'T FORGET TO REGISTER TO VOTE FROM ABROAD!
REGISTER AT https://www.votefromabroad.org/
WORSHOPS
Saturdays 5pm-7pm The Other Writers' Group: a drop-in feedback writing Workshop. Writers! Bring 6 copies of your story, poems, etc to get feedback (up to about 10 mins reading time for prose, max 2 or 3 pages of poetry) Meets: upstairs at Shakespeare & Company, 37 rue de le Bucherie, Metro St Michel or Maubert Mutualite. Fee; 5 euros a meeting. For more info:http://spokenwordparis.blogspot.com/p/other-writers-group.html
Tuesdays & Fridays September 11, 14, 18, 21 WICE Course: Give the Reader What He/She Wants (PART I). Course Description: How to insure that your reader continues to turn your pages? The answer. Give your reader (and yes, this includes potential publishers) what he or she wants. When he or she wants it. In this workshop we will discuss what is at stake for your reader, and how to maintain it. Yes, plot. Yes, character. But also the role of voice and point-of-view. Clarity versus creativity. Dialogue. Your stories' middle (mid-life) crises ... This workshop is designed for writers with works already in progress; both fiction and non-fiction. No in-class exercises, no assignments. Each week members will distribute their work and receive concrete feedback. Instructor: Bob Levy has been writing short fiction and literary memoirs for 22 years. His work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune and San Francisco Bay Guardian. He has received awards including the Paris Short Story Competition (2011), Langston Hughes Award (2003), a Chicago Tribune Nelson Algren Award (2001), and a Pushcart Prize nomination. AT: Maison Paroissiale, (Room16), 13 place Etienne Pernet, 75015 Paris; Métro: Félix Faure; Bus: 70 or 88.
SEE ALL WICE CREATIVE WRITING CLASSES ON THEIR WEBSITE HERE
27 September 19h Writers Workshop at WH Smith: Literary agents Michael Larsen and Elizabeth Pomona will discuss the 3 keys to becoming a successful writer. Now is the best time to be a writer. All books can get published. The only questions are when, how, and who will do it. Technology has created more ways to promote and profit from your work and reach readers than ever. This humorous, inspirational, informative talk provides a state-of-the-art perspective on the challenges and amazing opportunities for writers. It will tell you what you need to know about: selling and promoting your work, the 3 "musts" to write saleable work, how to get an editor, publisher and
deal for your book and the importance of self-publishing. You’ll learn what you have to do to overcome the obstacles facing new writers and how to become a successful writer faster and more easily than ever. Space is limited, so reserve your seat now! To RSVP, please send an email with your complete contact information to books(at)whsmith(dot)fr with 'Writers Workshop Reservation' as the message's subject. You will receive a confirmation. AT: WH Smith 248 Rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris. Métro: Concorde
Cathy Altman Nocquet's weekly writing classes on the rue du Laos 75015 feature offbeat exercises designed to develop creative thinking. Teens meet Fridays from 5:30-7pm, 12 euros per class. Adults meet Mondays from 2-4pm, 15 euros per class. Visit http://can.writing.free.fr/can.writing/Workshops.html or email [email protected]for more info
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In a remarkable article entitled "The Organic Fable" NYT op-ed columnist Roger Cohen attacked organic foods for failing to be more nutritious than regular foods, citing a Stanford metastudy.
People who grow and eat organic foods, however, are trying to avoid pesticides, hormones and antibiotics, which have repeatedly been shown to be dangerous for both the environment and for the people forced to consume them.
Nowhere in his article, unfortunately, did Cohen grapple with - or even mention- this. (This is especially curious because the NYT's article by Kenneth Chang that he links to DOES talk about these concerns.)
What's interesting here is that this line of attack - ignoring the reasons why people want organic foods while focusing on a nutritional claim publicized by the foes of organic in order to discredit it - has been used before. In 2009 in Britain.
And it smacks of corporate com.
Setting up a straw man (nutritional claims) in order to knock it down is a classic Mad Men tactic.
As is changing the conversation.
Organic is about protecting ourselves and our children from pesticides present in industrially produced vegetables and fruits and from the residue of hormones and antibiotics in industrially produced poultry, beef and pork. Its farmers want to protect our land and water from contamination.
It is perfectly understandable that the agribusiness, drug and chemical industries prefer not to focus on these issues. Especially since research on the impact of the consumption of pesticides and hormones on the health of laboratory animals is profoundly negative. And the rising resistance of bacteria to antibiotics has been traced in part to their massive use in industrial feedlots.
What is not clear is why anyone fell for it.
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