Beth Arnold

Letter From Paris: Books on Paris and The French

Cover via Amazon

by Beth Arnold

I happen to be reading Malcolm Cowley's book Exile's Return: A Literary Odyssey of the 1920's. This book was first published in the U.S. in 1934, then revised and expanded in 1951, and has been republished regularly since then. What is the allure? Why do generations of Americans keep reading it? For one, Mr. Cowley has taken his own personal journey as a member of The Lost Generation, who Americans fell in love with nearly 100 years ago, and explains the forces that drove them to Paris and then sent some of them back home. He writes about his and others' individual motivations, social influences, and the culture, both in the United States and in France, that culminated in the marvelous poetry and prose that came from this period, as well as mediocre work that hasn't survived.

One fact remains constant: Our love affair with The Lost Generation continues. We Americans see these writers and artists as courageous and curious, artistic, open-minded, passionate, undisciplined, and rowdy--even a bit bohemian for taking a walk on the wild side by dropping out of the New World to experience and explore the Old World, which seemed much less inhibited and exotic than the Puritanical United States. World War I had literally blown their world apart, and the end of it gave these young people a window of time and opportunity to step though. They were used to a level of adrenalin and excitement that they intended to funnel into new literary explosions.

Exile's Return: A Literary Odyssey of the 1920's

Letter From Paris: The Other Side of Midnight in Paris

Image via Wikipedia

AUDIENCES AND REVIEWERS are falling all over themselves to praise Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen's latest offering that premiered at the Cannes Film Festival last month. In it, successful hack Hollywood screenwriter Gil (Owen Wilson) and his fiancée, Inez (Rachel McAdams), have come to Paris with her stuffy Republican parents on a business trip. While the soon-to-be family live the posh Parisian high-life of five-star palace hotels and swanky restaurants, Gil is dreaming of writing the great American novel like his heroes in the Lost Generation who made Paris their own. But as Gil is absorbed by his literary nostalgia, Inez's attention is diverted to the husband of one of her friends, a cocksure academic, an "expert" in everything in and about the City of Light. And with this set-up, a fantasy unfolds.

"Charming," the reviewers say. "Allen harkens back to the magic in A Purple Rose in Cairo, New York Stories, and others... " Blah, blah, blah.

Letter From Paris: The New Les Halles

Image by Éole via Flickr

 

I am a lover of Les Halles, the area in the center of Paris that from the 12th Century until the 1970's was devoted to the selling of food--the central market--that was a cornucopia of fresh goods that arrived in Paris from the fields and villages of France every morning. For five years, I lived by the most divine Place des Victoires, and Les Halles was a hop, skip, and a jump away from me. At first the mammoth beast that Les Halles was and still is was confusing to me, but I learned her paths, discovered the riches of her neighborhoods, and bathed in her history. I felt the deep vibe of France--her people and land in the earth and sky there.

I never saw the enormous pavilions of iron and glass that Napoleon III commissioned from architect Victor Baltard, constructed between 1854 - 1874, to organize and house the different markets. I wish I had. This was the Les Halles that Emile Zola wrote of in his wonderful novel The Belly of Paris. This was a part of Paris that shouldn't have been torn down, in my opinion.

Les Halles, image via Wikipedia

Over the years and since Les Halles' 1970's renovation, it has been criticized as not only ugly but as a haven for unsavory characters. As a former resident of the neighborhood, I would like to point out I found the underground shopping center really handy, loved the movie theaters there, and was never afraid although I did not randomly walk through there during the weird times in a city that bad things can happen anywhere. Not saying problems don't exist...just that people need street sense no matter where they're navigating. And as for Les Halles's ugliness, I'll just say that that what is the most unattractive are the tacky, bad 70's buildings that circle Les Halles.

Letter From Paris: Chocolate and Jacques Genin

Mayan Chief & Chocolate, Image via Wikipedia

When The Cheese Princess and her sister, The Chocoholic, were in Paris for two weeks over Christmas, I knew that we needed to do some serious degusting of the great and powerful ambrosia of the cacao, the food of the gods. Oh, the paste from the seeds of the cacao that breathes us into its addictive magnificence, rolls us around in its luxury of smell and taste, and leaves us in its creaminess. Yes, we were going to experience and savor some extraordinary chocolate.

And so we did.

Paris is loaded with fine chocolate for its citizens and visitors to taste and hoard and bring as gifts to delight their hosts from near and far. Everyone has his or her favorite makers and shops (though how does one ever choose?) whether it's Patrick Roger, Michel Cluizel, Jean-Paul Hevin, La Maison du Chocolat, MIchel Chaudun, Pierre Hermé, Josephine Vannier, or many more. But I was going to take my darling daughters to the beautiful store of Jacques Genin, a self-described "rebel" in this country of tradition and conformity.

Image via Keldelice

Letter From Paris: Learning to See Like Matisse

Image via Wikipedia

Every expatriate has a story of how and why he left his home and came to live in a foreign land. These accounts may be tales of romance. They may thrill or entertain. The expat may never have meant to stay, but somehow new roots burrowed into foreign soil.

I have been telling my own tale in a series on my blog called "Jours of Our Lives." But I will quickly explain now that my journey in France started because of the painter Henri Matisse, along with my desire to live here. My husband, James Morgan, and I came to follow the artistic life of Matisse and to learn to see, and we spent six months driving across France doing this and another 13 months living in the village of Collioure, where Matisse helped invent Fauvism. We considered the work of Matisse, his color and light, and the perspective in which he created his pieces everywhere we went. I can tell you that this journey for me was dreamy.

And so when a friend emailed us about the current show at the Mona Bismarck Foundation--Another Language: Matisse As Printmaker--we definitely were interested. If you're not familiar with this lovely cultural center in Paris, let me catch you up...

Letter From Paris: Designing Students

Kind David IV of Georgia, Image via Wikipedia

On our recent visit to the Republic of Georgia and its second ever Fashion Week, the Lone Wolf and I were also introduced to Georgian art. There is nothing I like better than to experience the culture of a new territory by looking through the eyes of its artists, and Georgia was no exception.

We were delighted with an exhibition of Georgian Cinema and Theatre costumes at the Vato Kakhidze Art Center, and the interior of the building itself was an extraordinary example of Art Nouveau. At the Georgia State Museum of Fine Art, the icons we viewed were absolutely stunning (Wouldn't I be in heaven to own one!) even if the matrons who ran the tours seemed a bit old-style U.S.S.R. Communism, which Georgia is trying to eradicate from its national consciousness. The jewelry that had been saved and protected since antiquity was purely exquisite.

 

Vato Kakhidze Art Center

Letter From Paris: Three Wise Books

Galeries Lafayette - Image via Wikipedia

The holiday season is upon us, which means our yearly eating, drinking, partying, shopping, spending blow-out has begun! I have to admit that I love Christmas. My parents, Bill and Bobbye Arnold, didn't give us every single thing we wanted all year round, but, yeah, baby, at Christmas, they loaded us up! Oh, the decorations, the trees, the cookies and candy, the high spirits, creamy baked oysters, the singing of carols, and reading of stories conjured up Santa and his reindeer for me.

I will also admit that I adore giving gifts. There is nothing as fun as finding a present you know is perfect for someone you love and/or appreciate. With our modern lives and the extraordinary demands on our time that both enrich and deplete us, that's not always easy to do. But there is one store that I know I can find something for everyone to be delighted with, and that, my friends, is a book store.

A book is always a gift one can be proud to give--an array a king might be delighted to present his subjects, from courtiers to worker bees. There is power in words. There is romance, travel, mystery, science, adventure, solace, encyclopedic information--stories that compel us in every way, as well as transform us.

And in that spirit, I am presenting three books that I happily recommend for Christmas pleasure:

The first one is Choosing Easy World: A Guide to Opting Out of Struggle and Strife and Living in the Amazing Realm Where Everything is Easy by Julia Rogers Hamrick.

 

Jours of Our Lives: Introduction

  Illustration by Elizabeth Cannon

I HAD DREAMED of Europe, and of my living there, since I was 19 years old, the age at which I first saw it, felt it, loved it--even though I was on a, gasp, tour with lots of "old" people who were probably the age I am now. It was the turbulent early '70's, the time of Vietnam, Watergate, the revolution to bring Civil Rights for all.

Europe's Old World was brand new to me. With its sidewalk cafés, its tapestry of history and cultures, its emphasis on living life in all its moments instead of rushing through them--somehow I felt at home there. Being in Europe, even for a short time, enlarged my sense of self and my view of the world. I wanted to be a part of that world, not just a visitor to it.

Fast-forward 29 years: I finally got my chance!

It all began in 2002. As of that fall, my children would both be out of the house, beginning new lives separate from my husband, Jim, and me. What were Jim and I going to do? Maybe the last daughter's impending exit for college forced that question. We had loved our wonderful old Craftsman home in Little Rock, our friends and family--collectively our roots--but over the past few years something else had also been apparent: It was time for us too to make a change. A need for transformation was slowly seeping in, and Jim and I had started talking about maybe selling our house in Little Rock and buying a place in the Hudson Valley in New York State.

 

Letter From Paris: The Skulls of Yahel Chirinian

Image by fredpanassac via Flickr

Fall yields a great season of art in Paris, this year being no exception. With exhibits like "The Treasure of the Medicis" at the Musée Maillol (pictured on right), the monumental "Monet" at the Grand Palais, "Arman" at the Centre Pompidou (how the French love the late artist), and more, we are dripping in art. But don't count out the small galleries that are interspersed around Paris. There is no better time than the holidays to drop into them, when store windows and streets are festively decorated, and Parisians are feeling the holiday cheer.

I was wandering down the rue du Mont Thabor in the 1st Arrondissement, which is one of my favorite Paris streets, when my eye was caught by this fetching window of skulls.

 

Galerie 13 Jeannette Mariana

I was taken with the skulls and walked into the gallery to see what I could discover about the bony sculptures and the artist who crafted them.

Letter From Paris: (Republic of) Georgia Fashion Week

After the catwalks of Milan and Paris, Fashion Week in Tbilisi? As curious as it may sound, the answer is yes. It was a whirlwind of Georgian feasts, tours of the beautiful and textured city, museums with historic icons covered in jewels, parties galore, and show after show of hungry young designers who wanted to impress with their visions of what Georgian fashion could be. So many delicious layers to peel away in discovery. What could be more fun!

The small Republic of Georgia, located strategically at the crossroads between Europe and Asia, along the historic Silk Road routes, is a cultivation and clash of those dual civilizations. Think about the alchemy of East and West that stirred the Georgian pot, and how richly veined the history and culture are. In more recent memory, Georgia's long occupation by the former Soviet Union was in lock-step with the other countries around them. The concepts of art and fashion were officially snuffed-out to make room for a sea of Soviet conformity, and the high culture of fashion was lost for a time, if not forgotten.