Laurel Zuckerman's Paris Weblog

President of SOS Racism: "Charlie Hebdo is anti-racist"

"Scandalous." "An insult to the memory" "An insult to the living and to the dead."

This is Dominique Sopo, the president de SOS Racisme, France's leading anti-racism and anti-discrimination organisation. In this video (in French) he expresses his  outrage that people falsely accuse Charlie Hebdo of being racist when it is the opposite. He says that Charlie Hebdo is the most important anti-racist weekly in France. That all the anti-racism activists in France know this, and that Cabu, Charb and Wolinski regularly did cartoons FOR anti-racist campaigns.  Mr Sopo says that lies about Charlie Hebdo are creating a "mob mentality". 

(Even if you don't understand French, you can hear from Mr Sopo's tone how angry he is that ignorant morons attack Charlie Hebdo for "racism". )

I don't know how exactly the moral brigade among writers in America got the idea that the fearless satirists of Charlie Hebdo were "racist", but it's simply not true. If you have been spreading these lies you should be ashamed of yourself for slandering the dead and the living.

Writers who don't understand the video might pause for a moment to think of the implications of this.

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For more of my blog posts on related topics, please see:

145 Writers Against Freedom of Speech?

Garry Trudeau's Shame

 

 

Read first, pay what you want: Bartlomiej Filipek on new publishing options

One of the great pleasures of the London Book Fair is discovering innovative approaches to publishing, marketing, and distributing books and ebooks. Thus I was delighted to meet Bartlomiej Filipek, the General Manager of OpenBooks.com which proposes a new business model for ebooks, designed to facilitate sharing and discovery. Books are openly shared and readers pay, if they want to, after reading -  an amount they fix themselves. Could this be the model for you?

London Book Fair Special: a talk with Bartlomiej Filipek, General Manager of OpenBooks.com,

a Paris Writers News interview

Garry Trudeau's Shame

I loved Garry Trudeau's Doonesbury.

As a teenager I couldn't wait to read his comic strips and bought all his books.

I thought he was brilliant. Speaking truth to power.

Now, in a disturbing - and very sad - turn of events, this once admirable satirist has shamed himself and his profession.

In a speech delivered on the occasion of an award for lifetime achievement, Trudeau blamed the victims in the Charlie Hebdo attack, ignored the very real risk of death that satirists - as well as many other people - face from Islamists today, and advocated self-censorship to avoid offending people.

Paris Hidden Literary Gem: Maison de la Poésie

Where else in Paris can you listen to an intimate conversation, in English and in French, with Dave Eggers, the brilliant and generous editor, publisher, activist, educator, and author of such works as What is the What, Zeitoun, The Circle, Hologram for a King (recently translated into French) and, of course A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius?

Paris Writers know, of course, of the American Library in Paris, Shakespeares, the Irish Cultural Center, Carrs, the Abbey Bookshop, WICE, the Mona Bismarck and many other outstanding venues. But the Maison de la Poésie is, despite its excellence and fame within the French writers community, much less well known among English-speaking writers.

It is a place to discover.

After Dave Eggers, (wonderfully interviewed by Flore Vasseur and with outstanding translation by Marguerite Capelle), tonight the Maison de la Poésie will welcome Michael Cunningham, the author of the beautiful The Hours and The Snow Queen, which has recently been translated into French.

It promises to be another outstanding event.

Personally, I took out a membership (a very reasonable 20 euros) and plan to attend every event I can.

Adding to the pleasure, wine is for sale by the glass in the foyer, and the seats of the auditorium are comfortable.  

Maison de la Poésie

Passage Molière
157, rue Saint-Martin - 75003 Paris
M° Rambuteau - RER Les Halles

Infos et réservations

tél : 01 44 54 53 00
du mardi au samedi de 15h à 18h

[email protected]

March Literary Events in Paris

Paris Writers News is gearing up for a new season of literary events and interviews with authors.

In the meantime, for information about what's on in Paris, we recommend:

• Jen Dick's excellent listing of literary events and workshops for March,

http://parisreadingsmonthlylisting.blogspot.fr/2015/02/literary-paris-calendar-march2015-part.html

Copenhagen: five weeks after Paris and Vincennes

In the heart of Europe, cartoonists, free speech advocates and Jews are under attack again. Our hearts are with the people of Denmark, and all who struggle to defend the values of a democratic, open, and tolerant society.

Vicki Lesage on That's Paris: An Anthology of Life, Love and Sarcasm in the City of Light

We talk with author Vicki Lesage about the making of the just-released anthology: That's Paris: An Anthology of Life, Love and Sarcasm in the City of Light. 

 

A Paris Writers News interview

Killed over a parking space: tragically common in the USA

It is only natural that people are outraged at the idea that three young people can be murdered for something as stupid as a parking space. And yet, a quick Google search reveals this is tragically common in America.

Literary events, talks, workshops and submissions in Paris Feb 2015

Paris Writers News is taking a little break this month, but writer events, classes, interviews with authors and new books in Paris have never been more exciting.

For information about what's on in Paris, we recommend:

• Jen Dick's outstanding event list,

http://parisreadingsmonthlylisting.blogspot.com/2015/01/literary-paris-february-2015.html

Revenge of the Twitterverse: Best Nationwide "Because I Died" Tweets

In these dark times, a big thanks to Nationwide for inviting us to laugh at their dreadful Superbowl ad.