Month: November 2020

Reading in Lockdown- Part 2

“You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, who had ever been alive.”

James Baldwin

BOOK POWER
by Gwendolyn Brooks

BOOKS FEED AND CURE AND
CHORTLE AND COLLIDE

In all this willful world
of thud and thump and thunder
man’s relevance to books
continues to declare.

Books are meat and medicine
and flame and flight and flower,
steel, stitch, and cloud and clout,
and drumbeats in the air.

If you have never heard of or read Maria Popova’s Brain Pickings, now might be the time to discover her newsletter. In lockdown, we have the opportunity to read much more than we usually do. Why is reading important?

“Someone reading a book is a sign of order in the world,”wrote the poet Mary Ruefle. “A book is a heart that beats in the chest of another,” Rebecca Solnit asserted in her lyrical meditation on why we read and write. But whatever our poetic images and metaphors for the varied ways in which books transform us — “the axe for the frozen sea within us,” per Franz Kafka, or “proof that humans are capable of working magic,”per Carl Sagan — the one indisputable constant is that they do transform us, in ways which we may not always be able to measure but can always feel in the core of our being.

Maria Popova

I love to read. I probably read a book a week, sometimes more, sometimes less. It is a great distraction when the noise of the world is coming at me too fast and too furious. Most days, I prefer a good book to TV or Netflix. When I read a wonderful piece of literature like Amor Towles’ A Gentleman in Moscow, my breath is taken away. Being a writer myself, I find myself admiring how each sentence is made up of everyday words placed in perfect order to bring a vision to mind and to feel like one is there. That is genius.

When I read a good mystery writer, Peter Robinson, Val McDermid (some might say she is more thriller), and now Tana French, I am transported to a world I hope I never visit but get a glimpse of. The best mystery writers write literature not just a fast paced, stay awake all night, who done it. And when the books are a series as with Peter Robinson or the great Donna Leon, whose Ispetattore Brunetti is beloved the world over, we become part of a family one only knows from reading. It is such a treat and we await the next chapter of the “family’s fortunes” as one waits for Christmas as a child.

This lockdown will end. The pandemic will pass eventually. Maybe some of us will have slowed down enough that we love it, don’t want to speed up again as before Covid-19 made it’s deathly visit on earth. Many of us will look to re-invent ourselves into what we’ve learned about the best of ourselves. If there is one constant in life it’s that things change–always. But reading, and learning from reading, and being inspired by reading is always available to us. So I encourage you to start now. Read an inspiring book during the day and an escapist book at night. The worlds you will travel will almost make up for the traveling we cannot do at the moment.

A bientôt,

Sara

Reading in Lockdown

My friend, Janet Hulstrand, a wonderful writer, sent out a blog today that championed buying books and supporting authors. I am reblogging her blog as no one could say it better. I would only add that the wonderful website: http://www.bookshop.org supports independent bookstores and even gives a percentage of its profits to the support of these wonderful bookstores trying to stay alive during the Pandemic. I wish we had it over here.

How You (Yes, You!) Can Help Writers by Janet Hulstrand

Buy books if you can afford to. If you have “too many books”… (But is there really such a thing? Most writers, and even many readers, don’t really think so…Too few bookshelves, certainly. But too many books? Ridiculous!). But anyway, if you think you have too many books, well then, buy them, read them, then give them to friends, or better yet to the library or other places that accept used books–hospitals? prisons? schools?

Buy new books if you can afford to. The reason for this is that if you buy used books, the only entity to make any money is whomever is selling the book. The publisher gets nothing: the author gets nothing. This makes it hard for authors and publishers to stay alive! So do what you can. If you really need to buy used books (and believe me, I understand if you do) you can still write reviews, and that will help authors and publishers.

Review books on Amazon or GoodReads. I think it is absolutely wonderful that we no longer have to rely only on professional book reviewers to tell us about books. Having said that, I think it’s only right that if we’re going to be influencing people’s decisions about whether or not to buy (or read) a book we should be fair about it. Here is a post I wrote about how to be fair when writing a review. (Most people don’t know HOW MUCH these reviews help writers: they help A LOT! And they are so easy to do. I explain how easy it is also, in that same post.)

Buy from indie bookstores, in person or online. My own personal favorite indies are the Red Wheelbarrow Bookstore in Paris, and BonjourBooksDC and Politics and Prose in the Washington DC area. But there are wonderful indie bookstores pretty much everywhere, and they need our support! If you’re not near a store, you can buy books online from many indies: and even if your local indie doesn’t sell online, you can support indie bookstores by purchasing books online from IndieBound or Bookshop.org.And now just two please-don’ts:

Please don’t ask your writer friends if you can have free copies of their books (!) They need their friends and family members to BUY their books, and then tell all their friends about the book, and write reviews of their books, and give their friends gifts of the book, and…like that. (You can trust me on this. They really do!! Writing books is not such an easy way to make a living: indeed, this is a huge understatement.) 

Please don’t go to indie bookstores to browse and then buy the books online from you-know-who. How do you think the indie booksellers are going to pay the rent on that lovely space they are providing for you, where you can hang out and spend time with other booklovers, and go to cool book events, if you don’t buy books from them? Hmm? I mean, really. Think it through! This post spells out some of the many reasons why it’s good to support indie bookstores. Well, anyway, I hope as you consider your holiday shopping this year, you will consider doing some of the above. It’s been a hard year, especially for small businesses, including indie bookstores. So I trust you will do what you can to help them out. They deserve it! 

Janet Hulstrand is a writer, editor, writing coach, and teacher of writing and of literature who divides her time between the U.S. and France. She is the author of Demystifying the French: How to Love Them, and Make Them Love You, and is currently working on her next book, a literary memoir entitled “A Long Way from Iowa.”

A bientôt,

Sara

While you are being patient, read this…..

One of many wonderful things about living in Paris is the wonderful people I get to meet; singers and musicians from the 60s; authors: famous and to be famous; playwrites and actors. I wrote about one of my favorite people, Elliott Murphy, when I saw a documentary about him The Second Act of Elliott Murphy in 2017. Filmed by Spanish director Jorge Arenillas, the documentary talks of Elliott’s transition from the US to Paris. Elliott is not only a prolific musician–he has 38 albums, a number of books, live albums–he is a kind and generous person. He recently produced a new album, a creative stretch for him. But let him tell you about it:

Photo Credit: Michel Jolyot

Hi Elliott, I was planning to repost the blog I just received announcing the release of The Middle Kingdom, your latest album.  But I thought it might be fun to ask you some questions instead.

I’ve got plenty of time on my hands to answer any and all questions. Covid-19 has provided me with the longest vacation in almost 50 years!

This album is a bit different than your many earlier albums.  Why have you chosen poetry for this musical project?

The Middle Kingdom is probably close to my 40th album, and is my first entirely “spoken word” album although I have had a few songs that were more spoken than sung. One of the prominent in that category is “On Elvis Presley’s Birthday” which I still regularly perform in concert and is a fan favorite. Also, I had recently completed recording an “audiobook” of my memoir JUST A STORY FROM AMERICA [soon available on Audible.com etc] which required a week of narration recording so I had grown familiar with the process of recording a spoken voice as opposed to a singing voice. And then when the confinement kicked in I was looking for a way to continue working musically with Olivier Durand who has been my brilliant guitarist and musical partner for over 25 years and I had published two books of poetry “The Middle Kingdom” and “Forty Poems in Forty Days” so in a moment of inspiration provided by my muse I thought, why not record a selection of poems and then let Olivier find musical backing in his studio in Le Havre which he did brilliantly. The final step was for my son and producer, Gaspard Murphy, to mix it at his beautiful Paris studio. And to be honest, I’ve been amazed at the incredibly positive response the album has generated.  

How do the wonderful Corona Couch Concerts fit in?

I’m actually considering re-starting the “Corona Couch Concerts – The Return!” tonight at 8pm Paris time but I need to find something new to throw into the mix. The experience of presenting 56 Corona Couch Concerts on Facebook and Instagram during the first lock-down where I not only sang 3 or 4 songs each night but also acted as a kind of “talk show host” made me open to doing a spoken word album. Maybe I’ll find a way to fit all of this into The Return … (Elliott found a way and you can hear The Return on Instagram and FaceBook @elliottmurphy tonight and every night at 8pm CET) 

I’ve noticed that during this pandemic, many friends and others have turned to poets like David Whyte and Mary Oliver for soothing answers to existential questions.

I love to hear of poets I am not so familiar with. I will check out David and Mary. One of my favorites is Richard Tillinghast. By the way, there is a great album of Jack Kerouac reading while Steve Allen plays piano which was definitely a precursor to The Middle Kingdom.

Now you’ve joined the frey! 

I think you mean the Fray … but you may be referring to Glen Frey the late member of the Eagles who was a very cool guy indeed!

But most of us will always think rock n roll when we think of Elliott Murphy.

And well they should! 

Can you respond to that?

I have been floating down the rock ‘n roll river since deep into last century. It’s the reason I live in Paris although France is not really a rock ‘n roll country – more jazz in my opinion.

Have you been able to perform since the worst of the lockdown was lifted?

We did two shows in October – one in Brittany and another in the Paris suburbs – and although it was a bit surreal to walk out on stage and behold a sea of blue masks it was wonderful to create magic with the public. Now my shows in November and December have been cancelled, or hopefully moved to the Spring. I’ve been on the road my whole adult life and usually play between 60 – 100 shows a year so to go so long without a show is quite a shock to my system but not all negative. I always complained to my wife that I needed more time off and now I’ve got it. So I’ve been working on a new novel which I’m co-writing with Peter Redwhite who has translated two of my books into Spanish.  

You wrote a wonderful vignette about Bobby Vee and Bob Dylan. Can you repeat it here. 

Here you go: 

Poetry in Motion was a 1961 hit song for both Johnny Tillitson and Bobby Vee; the two of them early rock ‘n roll pioneers who put a tasteful touch of country music into the musical mix in the same vein as Elvis Presley or Jerry Lee Lewis. Johnny Tillitson was originally from Florida and featured the legendary Nashville piano player Floyd Kramer on his version of the song while Bobby was a genuine teen idol from North Dakota who, while still early in his career, hired a Minnesota musician who went by the name Elston Gunn to briefly tour with him and his band. Elston was actually Robert Zimmerman who became Bob Dylan and who mentions Vee in his biography Chronicles. 

For more about Elliott, go to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elliott_Murphy which has a complete list of everything he has conceived in almost fifty years of being a artist.

Also: https://www.allmusic.com/artist/elliott-murphy-mn0000174838/biography and https://elliottmurphy.com

So be patient. Amuse yourself with learning new things. Time passes and we will know who won eventually.

Stay safe, stay well, be smart and wear a mask, socially distance yourself. Your health is your responsibility.

A Bientôt,

Sara

Confinement Redux

A friend back in Oakland, Ca wrote to me this morning asking me if I was ok. He included a photo from the Associated Press that was titled: “Parisians flee, sidewalks empty, as France enters lockdown.” The photo showed a solitary figure walking an empty street and everything was grey. My friend said “Frightening to see this–hope you’re holding out ok.”

Photo my friend sent. It turns out this street is in Bayonne not Paris.

It has been an adventure of sorts. Wednesday evening, 8pm CET, President Macron announced that France was going back into lockdown. Although he claims that it will be slightly different than the last time, I haven’t seen what the difference is. I was still in Normandie and knew I had to get home. The lockdown started at midnight on Friday. I was able to get a train reservation for Saturday morning and began a whirlwind, frenetic packing generated by my sense of urgency. But as each hour went by, the urgency subsided. I was told that the shelves were sparse and so I packed a full bag of my groceries that I hadn’t yet used. By the time I left on Saturday morning, I had my one fairly large suitcase, my cat inside her carrier which is soft and can be worn over the shoulder, my ‘market’ bag in which I carry things I might need during the day, the full bag of groceries and another bag that held all the overflow.

I turned my car in at the train station and loaded myself up with all my ‘stuff’. I got about five feet and I knew it was all too much and too heavy. I started to do something I hate in myself and hadn’t done in a long time. I sighed very, very loudly, tried to look as miserable and helpless as I felt, tilted to the left with the weight of the grocery bag, sighed a little louder, all in hopes that someone would come rushing to my rescue. I must have looked a bit lunatic if not homeless, and I’m sure anyone who passed me gave me a wide berth. I made very slow progress. I realized I would have to go up and over the bridge to get to the quai where the train to Paris was. I was close to tears. Someone did say there was an elevator but didn’t offer to help. I was halfway across the bridge still doing my Sarah Bernhardt act when an employee of SNCF asked where I was headed, grabbed two of my bags, and, asking which car I was in, deposited me in Voiture 5. The train left within 30 seconds of my being inside.

Of course, I pulled the same stunt walking to the taxi queue in Paris. This time, a young woman stopped and helped me. I was home in my apartment three hours after leaving my friends’ home in Normandie. Ultimately I was glad for all the groceries as I had no energy to shop for food on Saturday.

Sunday morning, Day 3 of Confinement Deux, I went for my usual morning walk at 10:30am. On my walk, I pass a parcours with exercise machines in the Jardin du Ranelagh. My habit is to stop for about fifteen minutes, and every other day work out my arms and, on alternate days, my legs. The parcours was packed with people. I’m not sure if the area would be considered a space for gathering but there were well over thirty people. Three-quarters were not wearing masks. I got on one machine, felt scared, got off and went on my way to finish my walk. This morning, it was the same thing on a much smaller level, probably twelve people total, all the men not wearing masks.

Current Covid-19 numbers in France, according to the Health Minister: 1 new positive every 2 seconds; 1 hospitalisation every 30 seconds; 1 death every 4 minutes

When I left Paris on October 14th, everyone was wearing a mask. Was this a rebellion? I noticed a number of people not wearing masks just walking or wearing the mask under their nose. Not only did my neighbourhood NOT look like the photo my friend sent, it seemed teeming with life. Av. Mozart, my shopping street, had more people than usual. Only stores that sold necessities were open so my little clothing store was closed but the florists were open. They were not open the first time around. I was able to purchase my weekly bunch of flowers and that made me happy.

Around Europe, the numbers are devastating.

Macron said that the confinement would last one month but everything would be reviewed in fifteen days. If the cases of Covid-19 had stopped rising and looked to be diminishing, there was the possibility of some of the restrictions being relaxed. That is not likely to happen. Countries around France are following suit. The UK isn’t calling it a lockdown but much the same rules are in place. Germany is in lockdown. Spain and Italy had cities in lockdown for weeks already. Macron has said that this second wave is and will continue to be much more devastating.

Wearing masks in Paris on Friday, October 30.

Last Spring, the days were getting longer. It was a novel experience and people all over the world went out on their balconies to sing and clap for the healthcare workers. Now the days are getting shorter, the wind howls at night and no one is celebrating anything. And, for US citizens, tomorrow is a day that almost everyone has been awaiting for four years, many of us have been working at getting out the vote, making sure everyone over here knows they must register anew every year, and that it is an honour to be able to vote. So Please Vote. Now we, and the rest of the world, are holding our collective breath both hoping and fearing the results.

So, to my friend in Oakland, I will respond, “Yes, I’m holding up. My Paris doesn’t look like that photo and I’m not sure if that is good or bad. Both politically and health wise, I think we are in for a long, cold winter. Je t’embrasse.”

A bientôt,

Sara