Category Archives: School News

Refractions: Paris Postgraduate Festival 2023 Full Programme

In a world of sensory stimulants, art is the prism through which we refract our experiences. This year’s Paris Postgraduate Festival takes on the theme of Refractions. Taking place from 5th-9th June, these 5 free events will disperse the prismatic visions of artists across multiple Parisian venues. Please see the festival website to sign up and RSVP.

Pop-up Exhibition. Agora.

Monday June 5, 2023: Festival launch and Pop-up Exhibition

The 2023 festival will launch with a pop-up exhibition featuring artworks, sounds, and, of course, wine. Visit us in the 11th district of Paris where we will exhibit the work of a range of emerging artists, based in Paris, accompanied by audio inspirations.

WHEN + WHERE: 5:30-9:30 PM, Mon Pop-up Paris, 14 rue Jean Mace, 75011

Peniche Cinema – La Baruda. Time Out.

Tuesday June 6, 2023: Sounds & Visions

We present an experimental event incorporating live jazz music from Antoine Karacostas, accompanied by a programme of exceptional short films. Experience a new form of silent cinema, an amalgamation of contemporary and archive.

WHEN + WHERE: 5:30 PM at La Péniche Cinéma – Le Baruda in La Villette, 75019 Paris

RSVP

Wednesday June 7, 2023: Featured Author – Rebecca Watson

We invite you to join Featured Author Rebecca Watson in an afternoon of literary discussion and workshops. Experience an experimental writing workshop and an exclusive reading from Rebecca’s debut novel little scratch.

WHEN + WHERE: 2 PM at The Red Wheelbarrow Bookshop, 11 rue de Médicis No. 9, 75006 Paris

Space is limited – please sign up

Thursday June 8, 2023: The Menteur Launch Party

Join us in celebrating the launch of Voyager, the 2023 edition of The Menteur, the Paris School of Art’s annual literary magazine. Come get your free copy of the magazine, listen to readings by featured authors, and clink a glass to celebrate!

WHEN + WHERE: 1 PM at Rosa Bonheur Buttes Chaumont, 2 Av. de la Cascade, 75019 Paris

RSVP

Parc des Buttes Chaumont.

Friday June 9, 2023: The Art of Communications

We close the festival with a workshop that will awaken all your senses; the writing and reading of poetry informed by olfactory exploration. This poetry and perfumery workshop will take place in the beautiful hills of Buttes Chaumont.

WHEN + WHERE: 6:30 PM at Parc Des Buttes-Chaumont, 1 Rue Botzaris, 75019 Paris.

Precise location will be provided to participants prior to the event.

Space is limited – please sign up

Student Profile: Lauretta, MA in Creative Writing

What attracted you most about studying at the Paris School of Arts and Culture?

Undertaking the MA in Creative Writing was a huge change for me. My undergraduate degree is in Accounting and Finance and I had a successful career in finance before coming to Kent. A common question I was asked was “why don’t you keep your job in finance and write after work and on weekends?” I knew I would be doing myself an injustice if I didn’t enrol in a programme that allowed me to dedicate a significant amount of time to my dream.

I had the opportunity to study at another, equally prestigious school but what swayed my decision was the course structure at the Paris School of Arts and Culture. The most important thing was for me to able to create and work on a novel idea. Kent’s programme has allowed me the headspace to explore my new city, perform research, and play with new genres. I had to ensure that if I was going to take one of the biggest risks in my life, it would be at a place like Kent, where I knew my ideas would be nurtured and my boundaries pushed.

How has the course influenced your writing practice?

A lecturer I worked with during the autumn term gave me the support to polish my pieces but also enter them into as many competitions as I could. During my time in Paris, I have had sections of my novel published in literary magazines and read out loud at numerous events. And I was recently shortlisted for a Penguin Random House competition!

As I worked away at my career in finance, I knew that what I needed the most was time. Time to push myself, which is what the Paris School offered me. I owe much of my success to the course structure, which allowed me the breathing room to not only develop my ideas but also put pen to paper.

What was your favourite module?

Identity, Trauma and Sexuality in 20^th and 21^st Century Narratives was my favourite. It appealed to the part of me that loves books. Every week I was able to pick up a new text, which covered some really hard hitting material. After every text, I felt myself getting smarter and my view on the world shifted and became more textured. Certainly, a module I would recommend!

Describe your cohort.

We were thrown together initially but soon I found we had so much in common. On the first day, I heard people laugh over a pub they both visited in Birmingham as another group squeezed together to look at photos of someone’s hometown in Italy. There are some stars who burn blinding bright and some quieter types who brood mysteriously out of windows, but everyone has a place. We are all so willing to support each other whether it’s sharing recipes, a place to stay or bringing over a specific brand of all-purpose seasoning from England. We’re a family.

What has been your most memorable Paris moment?

It has to be at one the first house parties I went to in Paris, hosted by a fellow student. I sat by a window, clutching a glass of wine as I spoke with violent passion about that day’s metro experience, and I laughed. I laughed because I finally felt settled in a city where I didn’t speak the language and where six weeks before, I knew absolutely nobody.

Either that or the day I learnt the correct terms to order a perfectly baked baguette from the boulangerie: pas trop cuite!

You’re from London. What was the transition from London to Paris like?

I stand firm in my belief that London is the capital of the world. I can, however, entertain conversations around New York or Paris also being the capital of the world. So, in my mind, I was moving from one world capital to another. This allowed for the ease of certain things, such as using a metro system and the mechanism of the economy. However, in other places I had less surefootedness. For example, the etiquette around payments and phone calls and the slower nature in which things run in Paris was an adjustment for me, but I did adjust.

What advice would you give to incoming students?

As a creative writing student, I found that myself and other students who had an idea of what they wanted – to spend the year writing – took more away from the course. I was able to ask targeted questions about my work and propel myself towards my goal. Modules such as Fiction and Psychogeography allowed for exploration of new forms, genres and styles which ultimately only strengthened my core focus, my novel. The idea you come with doesn’t need to (and in fact shouldn’t) be set in stone but knowing what you want to leave the year with will ensure you are not simply being blown by the wind.

Paris is a city that must be approached with adaptability. Even if you’re from a huge city, or you’ve visited Paris before, living here is wildly different. The ability to adapt will make it easier to thrive. Things occur unexpectedly but that’s what makes things exciting and the more willing you are to bend, the more fruitful your time here will be.

What are your post-graduation plans?

I am moving to Medellin, Colombia after graduation to embark on other life changing adventures. I’ll also be trying to get my book over the finish line with the help of all the tools I gathered this year!

Alongside her studies, Lauretta works as a barista in Paris’ 3rd arrondissement.

Merci beaucoup, Lauretta!

E. Tracy Grinnell Named Writer in Residence 2022

The University of Kent Paris School of Arts and Culture is pleased to announce that E. Tracy Grinnell has been appointed to the fourth Paris Writer’s Residency in collaboration with the American University of Paris and the Centre Culturel Irlandais (Irish Arts Centre). We look forward to welcoming her to Paris in October to work with students at both our universities and to join our community of writers.

Grinnell has written four poetry books, including Hell Figures (Nightboat Books) which was a finalist for the Firecracker Award in Poetry, and her poetry has been translated into French, Serbian, Polish, and Portuguese. She translated way by Leslie Scalapino into French (Éditions Corti) along side Isabelle Garron. Her work has appeared in numerous collections and publications, including BAX 2016: Best American Experimental Writing, edited by Charles Bernstein and Tracie Morris (Wesleyan). Grinnell lives in Brooklyn, New York and is the founding editor and director of Litmus Press.

During the month-long residency Grinnell will be leading workshops at the Paris School of Arts and Culture and the American University of Paris, and giving a public reading at the Centre Culturel Irlandais.

Learn more about our Creative Writing Master’s Programme in Paris here.

Alumna and Poet Megan James Publishes her First Work, Womb Fruit

In the latest edition of our Graduate Profile we connect with alumna and poet Megan James. A graduate of our Master’s in Creative Writing, Megan’s work has been featured in The Hellebore, Molly Bloom and Ache magazine, amongst others. She has recently published her first work, Womb Fruit, a long format poem which she began in Paris as her MA dissertation. In this interview Megan tells us more about her experience at our Paris School, the creative process behind Womb Fruit and her current projects.

Where are you from and what originally brought you to Paris?

I grew up in a small town just outside of Oxford. A combination of health and homelife made going to university feel like a distant and unattainable thing until I was an adult. I was working as a Teaching Assistant in a Primary School when I had the realisation that I had so much more to learn myself; I studied to retake my A levels and bagged myself a place to study English at the University of Exeter. I’d always enjoyed playing with language – diaries and poems had been a large part of my coping and processing chronic illness – but at Exeter, I took all the Creative Writing modules possible.

When my degree ended, my writing didn’t. In my final few months, I scoured the internet for creative post-grad options when I found the courses offered at the University of Kent’s Paris School of Arts and Culture. Studying literature had highlighted Paris as a city of art and creativity; when I saw the Creative Writing MA offered at PSAC, I knew I had to make it happen.

What attracted you most about studying at PSAC?

Above all, being able to live, write, work and study in Paris was a dream come true. I wasn’t ready to stop learning, and PSAC offered the opportunity to continue doing just that in the best place for it. The city’s rich history as a place of reaction and revolution fuelled my writing; every cobbled corner had a story to tell, and I wanted to tell it.

The pull of Paris was strengthened by my desire to learn a new language. Living in France forced me to practice in a way that my French GCSE didn’t! Using the language every day was the best way to improve, and the free French classes offered by the PSAC built on these skills and helped me hone them.

What are you currently doing and how did that come about?

My love for learning has come full circle: I am now teaching English at a Secondary School near Oxford. The demands of my job are many, but the satisfaction is constant. My job allows me to continue my own learning journey too. Teaching is learning; learning is teaching – the older I get, the more I value this truth. There is a reciprocity to learning that benefits everyone.

**Could you tell us about Womb Fruit and your writing process?**

At its core, Womb Fruit is an excavation of the myths of womanhood; those we are told and those we tell ourselves. It focuses on the circles and cycles of the body and the processing of trauma.

Womb Fruit is a long-form poem addressed to an unborn daughter, sharing the complicated histories of the inherited and uninherited. Womb Fruit explores themes of pain, illness, and miscarriage, and is woven with female histories of Greek mythology. As a chronically ill person, I’m concerned with the eugenic attitudes of medicine, society and culture regarding a woman’s choice/ability to reproduce, as well as the stigmatisation and pathologising that often comes with living in a sick body.

I wrote Womb Fruit while living in Paris and it was my final project at PSAC: my MA dissertation. Being a poem about womanhood, there was an irony in the writing process feeling like a labour of sorts. The narrative is punctured, confessional, at times chaotic. It is writing as therapy.

You hand-stitched its cover, was this an important complement to the artist process of your writing?

Yes! As well as working with words, I’m also an embroidery artist and have often used this form of expression as a therapeutic process. At first, I’d hoped to stitch the entirety of the poem, however, I settled on another, less time-consuming method. Instead, Womb Fruit is infused with the language of embroidery. I attempted to translate the physical techniques of embroidery – layering, weaving, shading, knotting – into language.

I knew I needed to incorporate this ancient practice of expression into my writing. Sewing is an art form that has stood the test of time; it predates written language. It is also something that has been historically associated with women. I wanted to flip the use of this as a practice to silence women, and instead use sewing as a symbol of permanence, of history, of recording expression by any means available.

Are you working on your next book?

I continue to write (and sew!). My recent writings are concerned with the notion of home. Starting with the age-old dilemma – is home a place or a feeling? – the poetic fragments track the politics of home and homelessness; the body as home; the mind as home; and end with the coming-home of spiritual peace. This work-in-progress is yet untitled, but I look forward to sharing it soon.

Do you think that your studies at PSAC helped with your career or creative endeavours?

Definitely. Continuing my education at MA level gave me the creative space to focus on my writing. My year in Paris was defining; it gave me the perspective and clarity to spend time on my crafts and do so in a place that was constantly inspiring.

Would you recommend PSAC to potential students and if so, what would you tell them?

I would recommend studying at the PSAC whole-heartedly. Paris is full of grand buildings with huge, locked doors hiding secrets behind. The PSAC opens those doors, allowing you to access so much more of the city than you would otherwise. From the staff and lecturers to the links and connections to other institutions, you’ll never be short of opportunities. From the open evenings and readings to the organised events and activities, you’ll never be bored.

As perfect as my year in Paris may sound, it wasn’t easy making it happen. The practicalities involved in moving abroad, even temporarily, are challenging. I took out a personal loan to pay for the course fees and worked full-time as an au pair while in Paris; I highly recommend doing something similar if you want affordable living costs during your stay. I had my own apartment to accommodate me, and while the extra workload was intense at times, it made my stay possible.

Even if it seems impossible, and sometimes it might, if you want it bad enough, make it happen.

Merci beaucoup, Megan!

Womb Fruit was published by Litmus Publishing in April 2022. You can learn more about and acquire a copy at this link.

Connect with Megan on Twitter: @MeganHJames or Instagram: @meganhannahjames.

CHAOS AND ORDER: Postgraduate Arts Festival 2022 – Full Programme

We are very pleased to reveal the full programme for our annual Postgraduate Arts Festival 2022. From June 7th to 11th the Postgraduate Students of the University of Kent in Paris will be hosting a range of enlightening events revolving around the theme of CHAOS AND ORDER. Read on to discover this year’s diverse programme and register for our RSVP-only events here.

PROGRAMME OF EVENTS

DAY ONE: TUESDAY, 07 JUNE

6:00 PM – 9:00 PM: VERNISSAGE: Exhibition Opening

Hosted by the University of Kent Paris Society, join us for the opening of our five-day festival and explore how our featured artists give form to the matter of Chaos and Order, employing their creativity to understand the vigorous process of life and its complex realities. Food and drinks will be provided!

At the precipice of order, there is always chaos, and order itself is threatened by the omnipresence of slippages, dissent, and disorder. The theme of the exhibition is open to interpretation for the individual artists with the vision to defy institutional arrangements and aesthetic and canonical expectations. The call of the moment is for art that exists in the free-flowing space that has some potential for spontaneity. Our Arts Exhibition will feature artists who defy institutional arrangements, aesthetic, and canonical expectations.

We are delighted to be hosting our exhibition at the historic Atelier 11. Located in Cité Falguière in Montparnasse, this building has seen the likes of Soutine and Modigliani throughout its time. To learn more about the work done there and how you can support the restoration of the building, visit their website here.

*SPACE IS LIMITED FOR THIS EVENT – RSVP REQUIRED HERE*

Address: L’AiR Arts Association, 11 Cité Falguière, 75015 Paris

*The Arts Exhibition will continue through 8 June to 11 June, from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM

Dr. Fatou Nian

DAY TWO: WEDNESDAY, 08 JUNE

2:00 PM – 4:00 PM: CURATED FILM SCREENINGS

Featuring a variety of short films made by experimental directors from around the world and throughout various points in cinematic history, including Maya Deren, Bill Morrison, Hans Richter, and Alan Resnais. This curated series of films evoke the theme of Chaos and Order in awe-inspiring ways.

Afterwards, feel free to head upstairs and explore our on-going arts exhibition!

Address: L’AiR Arts Association, 11 Cité Falguière, 75015 Paris

5:30 PM – 7:30 PM: KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Dr. Fatou Niang on Arts and Poetics of Living in Times of Crisis

Introducing our Keynote Speaker for the Postgraduate Arts Festival, Dr. Fatou Niang! Join us for an afternoon of community, discussion and exhibition on the progression of and future of Art in our changing world. Drinks and light snacks will be provided.

Dr. Mame-Fatou Niang is a filmmaker and professor of French and Francophone studies at Carnegie-Mellon University. Her work is on contemporary France, Sub-Saharan Africa, postcolonialism, media studies, and urban planning. Her documentary Mariannes Noires, which focuses on the Afro-French identities of seven women, was selected for the San Francisco Black Film Festival, Toronto Black Film Festival, and Festival International du Film Black Montréal, among others.

*SPACE IS LIMITED FOR THIS EVENT – RSVP REQUIRED HERE*

Address: Reid Hall, 4 Rue de Chevreuse, 75006 Paris

Yelena Moskovich

DAY THREE: THURSDAY, 09 JUNE

6:00 PM – 7:30 PM: WRITE & SIP: Deconstruction – Neither Construction Nor Destruction

Deconstruction provides a way of studying the basic precept of existence. In this professionally-led workshop, rise to a plane of pure, joyful play, with a transcendental disregard for the one, all-encompassing, unbearable truth. Drinks will be provided.

This event will be hosted by Yelena Moskovich, a writer and artist, author of three novels, A Door Behind A Door, Virtuoso, long-listed for the Dylan Thomas Prize, and The Natashas. Born in Ukraine (former USSR), she immigrated to the U.S. with her family as Jewish refugees in 1991, then again on her own to France in 2007. They studied dramatic writing at Emerson College, physical theatre at Ecole Jacques Lecoq, and received a Master of Arts, Esthetics, & Philosophy (Performing Arts) from Université Paris 8. They co-founded their own theatre company, La Compagnie Pavlov, in Paris (inactive since 2012). Her plays and performances have been produced in the US, Canada, France, and Sweden. Their writing has also appeared in publications such as Apartamento, Vogue, Frieze, Times Literary Supplement, Paris Review, Dyke_On Magazine, and most recently in Kuba Ryniewicz’s photography book, The Daily Weeding. In 2018, they served as a curator and exhibiting artist for the Los Angeles Queer Biennial.

*SPACE IS LIMITED FOR THIS EVENT – RSVP HERE*

Address: L’AiR Arts Association, 11 Cité Falguière, 75015 Paris

Dr. Monique Y. Wells

DAY FOUR: FRIDAY, 10 JUNE

11:00am – 1:00pm: SHORT FILM SCREENINGS

Join us for a curated collection of short films by student filmmakers and experimental directors from various eras and genres, where filmmakers transcend conventions and push the boundaries of cinema. Guests are free to attend any films that they wish on the program.

The films featured at our Festival Screening have been specially curated to reflect the transcendental, often chaotic, nature of the medium, from experimental works pushing the boundaries of light and sound, to allegorical stories of shadow and dissent.

Address: L’Épée de Bois Cinema, 100 Rue Mouffetard, 75005 Paris

2:30 PM – 4:00 PM: CREATIVE WORKSHOP: Writing From Art

Combine the skills of writing and paint by exploring the artwork of Lucas Beaufort and using it to inspire your writing. Writers will be given the opportunity to showcase their work and perform. Drinks and light snacks to be provided.

The workshop will be led by Dr. Monique Y. Wells, founder and CEO of the Wells International Foundation, a U.S. nonprofit organization whose mission is to empower individuals, especially women and persons of African descent, to realize their highest potential through arts, literacy, study abroad, and other educational and cultural programs.

Dr. Wells will lead an exploration of the artist Beauford Delaney, a consummate artist and a warm-hearted man. Delaney was a great teacher and a great listener. Psychologically troubled, yet a profound inspiration to many. As his career evolved, Delaney painted to tame his inner demons and harnessed them to produce his art. His life and work are the perfect example of Chaos and Order that this festival seeks to explore.

*SPACE IS LIMITED FOR THIS EVENT – RSVP HERE*

Address: L’AiR Arts Association, 11 Cité Falguière, 75015 Paris

DAY FIVE: SATURDAY, 11 JUNE

11:00am – 1:00pm: SCREENING AND Q&A: Director Paul Heintz

Join us for the screening of CHARACTER, by Paul Heintz, followed by a student-led Q&A with the director. Heintz’s film is an attempt to recreate unspeakable links between beings, texts and societies — a feat Heintz accomplishes through an exploration of the experimental and the fantastic.

Paul Heintz’s works explore through different mediums the reversibility of the relationships between reality and fiction, truth and simulation, normalcy and anomaly. The ordinary world thus appears strewn with art and simulacra which, because they are perfectly integrated into the fabric of everyday life, arouse effects of strangeness or burlesque that are all the more striking. Paul Heintz is a graduate of the National Superior School of Art and Design of Nancy, of the National Superior School of Decorative Arts in Paris and of Fresnoy, national studio of contemporary arts. He was the winner of the 2019 Emerige Revelations Prize and his first personal gallery exhibition was presented at gb agency in May 2021.

Address: L’Épée de Bois Cinema, 100 Rue Mouffetard, 75005 Paris

6:00 PM – 8:00 PM : CLOSING EVENT: The Menteur Postgraduate Arts Magazine Launch

The editorial team of this year’s issue of The Menteur is proud to announce our theme of TRUTH. Join us for the launch of our latest issue in an evening featuring music, drinks, food and curated readings by published authors.

The Menteur is a literary and arts magazine from the University of Kent Paris School of Arts and Culture. Our 2022 issue features artistic and creative works from the University of Kent student body and beyond to cumulate into a series of introspective mediums that convey the truth, in any sense of the word. Join us for our magazine’s official launch as well as food and drinks to celebrate.

If you are a published writer or artist with the 2022 issue of The Menteur and are interested in participating in the curated reading during this event, please indicate your interest in the RSVP form.

*SPACE IS LIMITED FOR THIS EVENT – RSVP HERE*

Address: Reid Hall, 4 Rue de Chevreuse, 75006 Paris

Postgraduate Festival and the Paris School of Arts and Culture

The Postgraduate Arts Festival is held annually and organised by a committee of our Master’s students. You can learn more about the festival on its website here. Discover more about the University of Kent’s Paris School of Arts and Culture and the various Master’s Programmes offered by the School at this link.

Save the Date for our Annual Paris Postgraduate Arts Festival

Our Paris School’s Five-day Postgraduate Arts Festival – 7-11 June 2022

We often fear change, but the disruption of truths, ideals, and the status quo have produced some of the most transformative movements in history.

The University of Kent Postgraduate Arts Festival is proud to present this year’s theme of Chaos and Order, with a series of free creative events in Paris that will challenge normalcy — bringing chaos into order and order out of chaos.

Watch Paris come alive with five days of curated film screenings, writing workshops, and art curations, hosted by creative professionals attuned to the arts’ impact on our ever-changing society. The Festival will also feature the launch of our postgraduate arts magazine, THE MENTEUR.

Stay tuned for the full program of events, which will be announced on our website. And be sure to follow our social media accounts for the latest news and guest announcements.

From 7 – 11 June, we invite you to join us in embracing chaos as an opportunity for personal, artistic and social growth.

We can’t wait to see you there!

University of Kent Paris Festival Team

Good-Value Lunch Spots around our Paris School

Being mindful of your budget is often a top concern for students; one living expense where you can make savings is on your food. The most economical option is to prepare your own lunch (you can eat in the student lounge, in the courtyard on a sunny day, or in the nearby Luxembourg Gardens). But you’re not always going to have time to plan ahead. For that reason, we have put together a handy list of good value lunch options in Montparnasse and close to Reid Hall.

Supermarkets

French supermarkets generally sell pre-prepared sandwiches, salads and other lunch items at good value prices (approx 3-6€). Here are a few options near campus. There is also an open-air food market held on Boulevard Edgar Quinet on Wednesday and Saturday mornings.

Carrefour City (84 Rue Notre Dame des Champs, 75006 Paris) – The closest market to the school. Be forewarned that, as there are several schools nearby, this supermarket sees a lot of traffic between 12-1:30 pm.

Franprix (50 Rue Notre Dame des Champs, 75006 Paris) – Convenient if you’re coming or going to métro Notre Dame des Champs (line 12), this small shop sells food essentials.

Monop (124-126 Bd Raspail, 75006 Paris) – The express version of France’s higher end supermarket chain Monoprix, here you can get better quality lunch options from sandwiches to quinoa salads.

Naturalia (116 Bd Raspail, 75006 Paris) – A chain of French organic shops, here you can get healthy items to make your own lunch as well as some pre-prepared lunch items.

Takeaway Food

Panini stands (76 and 54 Rue Notre Dame des Champs, 75006 Paris) – Located a very short walk from the exit of the school, these stands cater to local students. The meal deal consists of a hot panini sandwich or a savoury crepe with drink and dessert for 5€.

Joël La Boulangerie (54 Rue Notre Dame des Champs, 75006 Paris) – Located conveniently at the intersection of rue Bréa, Vavin and Notre Dame des Champs, this local bakery has sandwiches, salads, quiches and a variety of baked goods which can be combined in their meal deal (referred to as a menu or formule in French). Approx: 6-10€.

Boulangerie Eric Kayser (87 Rue d’Assas, 75006 Paris) – This branch of a high quality chain of bakeries sells a range of reasonably priced hot and cold lunch menus. Approx: 5-12€, from sandwiches to menus.

Poké Planet (1 Rue Léopold Robert, 75014 Paris) – The poké bowl trend has even made it to Paris. Healthy and tasty, this eatery offers creative bowls from vegan to pescatarian. More information on their website. Approx: 8-12€.

Sushi Gozen (22 Rue Delambre, 75014 Paris) – With both sit-down and take away options, this is a reasonably priced Japanese restaurant close to Reid Hall. Take-away bento boxes are 9€ while in-restaurant lunch menus are 11€. See their website for menus.

Aristotte Bagel Shop (23 Rue Bréa, 75006 Paris) – This little shop makes freshly prepared bagels and sandwiches with customers choosing either off the menu or a custom sandwich. They also serve soup in the winter, hot dogs, and sweet bagel fillings. You can find their menu here. Approx: 6-8€

My Noodles (129 Bd du Montparnasse, 75006 Paris) – This North Chinese noodle place is a good option for a hot and tasty meal. Noodles are freshly made in-house and you can have them sautéed or in soup broth as well as other options. They also have seating, see their menu here. The restaurant can get busy at lunch time, so plan to arrive at noon to get a table quickly. Approx: 10-12€.

Bouillon Chartier Montparnasse (photo courtesy the restaurant’s Facebook page)

Sit Down Restaurants

Sushi Gozen and My Noddles above both have seating. Here are a few other great value options:

Montparnasse crêperies – The Montparnasse area is famous for its crêperies (crêpe houses), concentrated here thanks to the community of Bretons who settled in the area (the Montparnasse train station serves their native Brittany). Not only are crêpes part of the traditions of Montparnasse, they are also good value for money. Rue d’Odessa and rue du Montparnasse (not to be confused with boulevard du Montparnasse), are lined with great crêperies. Josselin is the most famous crêperie, however, it tends to be crowded so if there are no seats there, you can pick another one on these streets – they are all very good! Crêpe etiquette: crêpes are a sit-down meal. First go savoury, then go sweet.

Bouillon Chartier Montparnasse (59 Bd du Montparnasse, 75006 Paris) – Bouillons were born in the late 19th century. Their concept is simple: simple and classic dishes at unbeatably low prices. The historic Chartier Montparnasse has a gorgeous art nouveau decor and a fantastic value menu with main courses starting at 6,50€. If you stick to the cheaper items, you can eat a full three course meal (without drinks) for under 15€. This restaurant has been in operation since 1858, with its fabulous art nouveau decor dating from 1906.

Lucernaire (53 Rue Notre Dame des Champs, 75006 Paris) – This cool multi-purpose theatre-cinéma-book shop-café has a daily lunch special for around 12€. A nice way to mingle with hip, artistic locals!

Anti-Waste Apps

A great way to save on food is to use an anti-waste app like Too Good To Go or Phenix. Both apps have relationships with supermarkets, bakeries and other food purveyors which offer discounts on food which is nearing its expiry date. Sizes are always generous and if you have a little freezer in your apartment, you can even make the goods last a little longer! There are venues on the apps near Montparnasse… so you might also find last minute bargains on it!

Bon appetit!

Announcing PSAC Scholarships for September 2022 entry

We are pleased to announce that applications for our Paris School of Arts and Culture Scholarship Fund 2021 will open on Friday, 1 April 2022.

Criteria

To be eligible, candidates:

Must have received a conditional or unconditional offer of a place on one of the Kent, Paris programmes for the academic year starting in September 2022, whether split-site (Canterbury and Paris) or Paris only
Must start their course in September 2022
Intend to study full-time only
Can be UK, EU and overseas fee paying students
Will be assessed on academic excellence, and will usually hold by July 2022 a first-class Bachelor’s degree (or an equivalent non-UK qualification) in a relevant subject, or a Master’s degree at merit or distinction in a relevant subject

For students whose programmes are quoted in euros, your scholarship will automatically be converted into that currency.

Further details

Paris Scholarships will be awarded to a limited number of outstanding applicants able to demonstrate a high level of academic achievement, clear intellectual ambition and the potential to make a strong contribution to their chosen MA programme.

Scholarships will be awarded in the form of a partial fee-waiver.

See further information and apply here.

Kent alumnus and emeritus professor Abdulrazak Gurnah wins Nobel Prize For Literature 2021

The University is delighted to report that Emeritus Professor Abdulrazak Gurnah has won the Nobel Prize For Literature 2021.

The Nobel Committee awarded this year’s Prize to Professor Gurnah for ‘his uncompromising and compassionate penetration of the effects of colonialism and the fate of the refugee in the gulf between cultures and continents.’

The University’s Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Karen Cox was among the first to offer congratulations. She said: ‘On behalf of the entire University I’d like to extend our huge congratulations to Abdulrazak for this tremendous achievement. Abdulrazak is a complete inspiration to all of us – as a teacher, an alumnus of Kent and as such a powerful voice in postcolonial literature. His stories, some of which were first drafted in our very own Templeman Library, have touched millions worldwide and shine a light on human experiences that are so often ignored. We couldn’t be prouder of his success.’

Dr Bashir Abu-Manneh, Head of the University’s School of English, added: ‘Abdulrazak Gurnah’s writing epitomises our contemporary condition of displacement, violence, and belonging. His is the struggle for individual voice, for justice, for feeling at home in an ever-changing world. No one writing today has articulated the pains of exile and the rewards of belonging so well. Canterbury and Kent are both his exile and home.’

Professor Abdulrazak Gurnah was born in 1948 in Zanzibar, Tanzania. He is the author of the highly acclaimed novels Memory of Departure, Pilgrims Way, Dottie, Paradise, which was shortlisted for the 1994 Booker Prize, Admiring Silence, By The Sea, Desertion, The Last Gift, and Gravel Heart. His latest book, Afterlives is published by Bloomsbury. Until his recent retirement, he was professor of English and postcolonial literatures at Kent’s School of English. Professor Gurnah was a member of the Man Booker Prize judging panel in 2016.

Watch his Think Kent talk on Indian Ocean Journeys here and his reading of The Arriver’s Tale for Refugee Tales here. You can read more about Professor Gurnah’s life and work here.

“Speculative Futures and Thinking” – an Event with Author Sophie Mackintosh

The University of Kent Paris School of Arts and Culture and the American University of Paris are pleased to welcome Sophie Mackintosh as our Paris Writer in Residence 2021. The Paris School of Arts and Culture will be welcoming students and guests for a presentation and Q&A with Sophie on Wednesday, 6 October from 7-8:30 pm.

Entitled “Speculative Futures and Thinking”, Sophie’s talk will explore what’s beyond what we know of as ‘speculative’, and how we can use that kind of imaginative zone as a way to think and develop our writing across all modes and genres.

Born in South Wales in 1988, Sophie is currently based in London. Her fiction, essays and poetry have been published by Granta, The White Review, The New York Times and The Stinging Fly, among others. Her debut novel The Water Cure was published by Hamish Hamilton in the UK in Spring 2018 and by Doubleday in the US in early 2019, and was long-listed for the Man Booker Prize. Her second novel Blue Ticket was published in Summer 2020 to critical acclaim.

To attend this free event, please RSVP at this link by 5pm, Tuesday, 5 October. You must reserve your place for admittance. A French “pass sanitaire” will be required upon entry.