Tag Archives: Literature

Exploring North African Heritage in Paris

Paris’ North African communities are an important and vibrant feature of the contemporary city. Links between mainland France and North Africa date back hundreds of years, though it was during – and after – France’s second colonial empire (post 1830), that North African immigrants began to permanently settle in large numbers in Paris. 

The history of French colonialism and postcolonialism is a complex one. This blog article does not endeavour to retrace that history here, though we do offer recommendations for essential further reading below.

We’ve compiled this list of places and books that will help you learn more about and understand North African heritage in Paris.

Goutte d'Or Paris

La Goutte d’Or

In the shadow of Montmartre is this thriving neighborhood and North African hub in Paris. Meaning “the Golden Drop”, bustling daily life revolves around the street of the same name, the Barbès métro and the Boulevard de la Chapelle. The latter is home to a fabulous street market, le Marché Barbès, held Wednesday and Saturday mornings. This is a great time to come and explore the area or come late afternoon during Ramadan when it is abuzz with shoppers picking up supplies for the iftar, the meal that marks the end of daily fasting.  

 

Institut des Cultures d’Islam / Facebook

Institut des Cultures d’Islam

This cultural establishment managed by the Paris City Council is found in two locations in the Goutte d’Or (19 rue Léon and 56 rue Stephenson). The multipurpose venue showcases  contemporary art exhibitions, concerts, film screenings, debates, Arab language lessons, calligraphy classes, cooking classes and other cultural activities. Many of the events are free so feel free to stop by or check out its website to see what’s on.

 

La Grande Mosque de Paris. Photo: Mosqpedia

La Grande Mosquée de Paris

The religious centre of France’s Muslim community is found in the 5th arrondissement. The oldest mosque in Paris, it was commissioned by the French State as a token of appreciation to the Muslim soldiers who fought for France in World War I and was completed in 1926. The vast complex features Moorish architecture, has a 33-metre-high minaret and a leafy courtyard where you can enjoy mint tea and North African pastry at its tea salon. It also has a renowned traditional hammam

Institut du Monde Arabe. Fred Romero / CC

Institut du Monde Arabe (Arab World Institute)

The Arab World Institute was founded in 1980 by France and 18 Arab countries with the aim of researching and disseminating the cultures and spiritual values of the Arab world. Located next to the Seine in the 5th arrondissement, the Institut is housed in an impressive building designed by renowned French architect Jean Nouvel and incorporates elements of Islamic architecture. In addition to an excellent museum, temporary exhibitions, it has a wonderful free library where you can study. Before leaving be sure to go up to its free access terrace on the top floor which has great views of Paris.

 

 

Literature by writers with North African roots

Literature is a great way to discover the unique perspective of Paris’s North African community. Dr Carine Fréville, who convenes our Diaspora and Exile module, recommends the following books by writers with North African roots and which are set in Paris. 

  • Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow (US) and Just Like Tomorrow (UK) by Faïza Guène
  • The Seine was Red by Leïla Sebbar
  • With Downcast Eyes by Tahar Ben Jelloun
  • Topographie idéale pour une agression caractérisée by Rachid Boudjedra
  • Lullaby and The Perfect Nanny by Leïla Slimani
  • Tea in the Harem by Medhi Charef
  • Mes mauvaises pensées or Tomboy by Nina Bouraoui

Must-reads for understanding the historical context and contemporary debates

  • The Invention of Decolonization: The Algerian War and the Remaking of France by Todd Shepard
  • A Mission to Civilize: The Republican Idea of Empire in France and West Africa, 1895-1930 by Alice Conklin
  • The Algerian War, the Algerian Revolution by Natalya Vince
  • The Memory of Colonialism in Britain and France: The Sins of Silence by Itay Lotem
  • Paris 1961: Algerians, State Terror, and Memory by Jim House and Neil MacMaster
  • Empire’s Children: Race, Filiation and Citizenship in the French Colonies by Emmanuelle Saada
  • Fantasia: An Algerian Cavalcade by Assia Djebar

 

Creative Writing Lecturer Yelena Moskovich Interviewed by BOMB Magazine

Author Yelena Moskovich, lecturer in our Creative Writing MA Programme at the Paris School of Arts and Culture, was recently interviewed for BOMB Magazine by ​Grace Lavery, associate professor in the Department of English at UC Berkeley and general editor of Transgender Studies Quarterly.

Entitled Our First Mask, The Body, in the interview Yelena and Grace discuss the body in relationship to literature, theatre and Yelena’s new book, A Door Behind a Door (Two Dollar Radio), released in May 2021.

Read the full interview at this link.

Yelena Moskovich on A Door Behind a Door

Creative Writing Lecturer Yelena Moskovich Interviewed by Los Angeles Review of Books

Author and lecturer in our creative writing programme Yelena Moskovich, was recently interviewed by Nathan Scott McNamara for the Los Angeles Review of Books.

The interview explores Yelena’s latest book, A Door Behind a Door in relation to her previous two books The Natashas and Virtuoso. They are discuss the unique structure and rhythm of A Door Behind a Door as well as Yelena’s relationship to space, geography and language. Read the full article at this link.

Enhance your craft by pursuing our Creative Writing MA programme at our Paris School of Arts and Culture, which is offered both part-time and full-time. Learn more about the programme here.

Modern French Women Writers

Modern French Women Writers to Add to your Reading List

Over the course of the last century French female writers have succeeded in forging a solid place for themselves in ranks of modern French literature, often by being innovative, expressing a female perspective or constructing new narrative forms. Their engaging works should be celebrated every day, however, in honour of International Women’s Day on 8 March, we are highlighting a selection of French women writers chosen by Dr Carine Fréville, a professor of French and literature at the Paris School of Arts and Culture. Fear not if your French language skills aren’t up to snuff, all of these authors have at least one book translated into English.

Violette Leduc

Violette Leduc

The subject of Dr Fréville’s Master’s thesis, novelist Violette Leduc was born in the northern French city of Arras in 1907, the illegitimate daughter of a servant and the son of a rich bourgeois family. She attended a boarding school from the age of 11, where she was introduced to literature and where she also had her first lesbian experience, an affair which would later inspire her 1955 novel Ravages. After failing her baccalaureate exam in 1926, she got a job as a press cuttings clerk and secretary at the Pion publishing house; a role that transitioned into her writing news pieces about their publications. She wrote her first novel, L’Asphyxie, in 1946 (translated into English in 1970 as In the Prison of Her Skin). Prior to its publication, she met and gave a manuscript of the book to Simone de Beauvoir, the beginning of their lifetime friendship. Leduc is best-known for her 1964 autobiographical novel La Bâtarde (The Bastard), a bestseller in France and shortlisted for le Prix Goncourt, one of the country’s most prestigious literary prize. Leduc was also the subject of the 2013 film Violette directed by Martin Provost.

Photo (left): Marguerite Duras, Chateau de Duras

Marguerite Duras

The author of dozens of novels, plays and screenplays, Marguerite Duras is one of France’s most international recognized female writers. Born in 1914 in French Indochine (now Vietnam) to teacher parents, she came to France to complete her studies at age 17. Obtaining a degree in Political Science, she originally pursued a career in the French civil service. Nevertheless, she was writing on the side and published her first novel, Les Impudents, in 1943 – coincidentally with Pion, the same publisher where Leduc worked. Thanks to her third novel, Un barrage contre le Pacifique (The See Wall, published in 1950 and adapted to cinema in 2007 by director Rithy Panh), Duras’s writing began to garner more attention and she began to establish herself as a prominent pillar of modern French literature. Among her other works are the best-selling, autobiographical novel L’Amant which won the Prix Goncourt in 1984 (also adapted to film in 1992 by Claude Berri) and her screenplay for the 1959 New Wave film Hiroshima mon Amour, directed by Alain Resnais, which was nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the Academy Awards.

 Annie Ernaux/ photo Catherine Hélie, Gallimard.

Photo (left): Annie Ernaux by Catherine Hélie, Gallimard.

Annie Ernaux

Winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2022, Annie Ernaux is one of France’s most renowned modern writers. Born into a working-class family in Normandy in 1940, she pursued a degree in literature and began a career in teaching. In 1974 she published her first novel, Les Armoires Vides (Cleaned Out), inspired by her childhood in Normandy and exploring the condition of her parents’ generation, women’s issues and the struggle between social classes – themes which frequently come up in her writing. She became better know abroad after her 2008 memoir, Les Années, was translated into English and subsequently long-listed for the Man Booker international prize. She has earned many other national and international distinctions including having her complete body of work awarded the Marguerite Yourcenar prize in 2017.

Gisele Pineau

Gisèle Pineau

Born in Paris in 1956, Gisele Pineau’s family roots in Guadeloupe and the struggles of French people of colour are important themes in her writing. In 1975 she began studying literature, which she gave up to pursue a career as a psychiatric nurse. In 1993 she published her first novel, La Grande Drive des Esprits, which shed light on the difficulties, suffering and violence women endure in the French West Indies. The book was awarded Elle France’s Reader’s Choice Award and the Carbet de la Caraïbe prize, making her its first female laureate. She has since written over 20 novels including the critically-acclaimed autobiographical novel, L’Exil selon Julia (Exile According to Julia, 1996), which is studied in Dr Fréville’s Diaspora and Exile class.Marie Darrieussecq

Marie Darrieussecq

One of the authors covered in Dr Fréville’s PhD, Marie Darrieussecq’s work often revolves around gender issues, the body and transformation as seen through the eyes of female characters. Born in 1969, Darrieussecq studied modern literature at the Sorbonne Nouvelle and obtained her PhD from the Université Paris VII. She became an instant success at 27 with the publication of her first book and international best-seller, Truismes (Pig Tales), which describes the metamorphosis of a woman into a sow. Her 2013 novel Il Faut beaucoup Aimer les Hommes (A Novel of Cinema and Desire) was taken from a sentence from  Marguerite Duras’s La Vie Matérielle: “We have to love men a lot”, and won her the Prix Médicis and the Prix des Prix. In 2017 we had the pleasure of welcoming the author at our Paris campus as the guest of a conference hosted by Dr Fréville.

Photo: Faïza Guène, Hachette

Faïza Guène

One of France’s rising literary stars, Faïza Guène’s published her debut novel, Kiffe Kiffe Demain (Just Like Tomorrow) in 2004 when she was only 19. Selling over 400,000 copies and translated into 26 languages, the book portrays the realities of the life of a teen of immigrant parents growing up in the Parisian suburbs, it is also covered in Dr Fréville’s Diaspora and Exile class. She has since published four other novels, which further explore issues of identity and contemporary French society. She has also written and directed several short films and writes for or appears regularly in French press, radio and TV.

Exploring LGBTQ History in Paris

February is LGBTQ History Month in the UK. Here at the Paris School of Arts and Culture, we are commemorating this by putting spotlight on a selection of queer writers, artists, performers, filmmakers and innovators, both French and foreign, who left an important mark on Paris, a city which has long been a more liberating and welcoming place for non-conforming creatives. Some are also featured in our MA Programmes in Film, Creative Writing and the Philosophy of Art History.

Novelist and Playwright Rachilde

Rachilde 

symbolist novelist and playwright, gender-bender Rachilde became one of the most important writers of the late 19th century. Born in the French countryside in 1860,  Marguerite Vallette-Eymery moved to Paris at the age of 18, adopting a masculine haircut, started wearing men’s clothing and took up the pen name and gender ambiguous identity of Rachilde. Introduced via a cousin to the world-renowned actress Sarah Benhardt, Rachilde quickly integrated into the Parisian cultural world. Rachilde began hosting a weekly literary salon which was popular with other non-conformist writers and intellectuals. Rachilde is best known for the controversial erotic novel, Monsieur Venus, published in 1884 and which led being tried for pornography and convicted in absentia in Belgium. 

Rachilde, along with Jane Dieulafoy and Marc de Montifaudtwo other late 19th century writers who also did not conform to the era’s notions of femininity, are examined by Dr Rachel Mesch in her recent book Before TransDr Rachel Mesch was a recent guest of  the American Library in Paris’ Evenings with AAuthor series. You can view the recording of this discussion at this link. 

Writer Oscar Wilde and lover Alfred Douglas

Oscar Wilde 

Over the last 150 years, Paris became a haven for various foreign queer creativesone of the earliest being Irish poet and playwright Oscar Wilde. In 1895, at the height of his success, Wilde was convicted of gross indecency with men and sentenced to two years of hard labour. Immediately upon his release, he exiled himself in France, first living in the northern seaside town of Berneval-le-Grand with his lover Robert Ross. This is where he wrote his last work, The Ballad of Reading Gaol (1898), a long poem describing the harsh realities of prison life. Wilde eventually moved to Paris, renting a room at l’Hôtel d’Alsace, a dingy hotel in the Saint-Germain neighhourhood which has since been transformed into the chic L’Hôtel. Impoverished, this is wherWilde tragically died of meningitis on 30 November 1900. His tomb in Pere Lachaise cemetery has become a pilgrimage site for fans the world over. In addition to Wilde’s own writings, the writer was the topic of the 2018 film The Happy Prince written and directed by, and starring Rupert Everett. 

Colette in the “Dream of Egypt” show at the Moulin-Rouge in 1907, photo: Léopold-Émile Reutlinger / CC

Colette 

Often considered as France’s greatest femme de lettres, Colette was open about her lesbian relationships (first encouraged by her first husband) and challenged gender norms throughout her career. In addition to writing, she was also a theatre performer and mime. During one such performance at the Moulin Rouge in 1907, entitled “La Reve d’Egypte (“The Dream of Egypt”), she caused an immense scandal by passionately kissing her lover, Mathilde de Morny, on stage. Colette wrote over 30 works, her most famous being the novella Gigi. Published in 1944, the book recounts the story of a young courtesan who defies tradition by marrying her wealthy lover. It was later adapted to film, first in 1949 by French director Jacqueline Audry and then in 1957 as a Hollywood musical film which went on to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards. She too was the subject of a biopic in 2018; simply entitled Colette, it was directed by Wash Westmoreland and starred Keira Knightley.

Gertrude Stein, Basket and Alice B. Toklas in LIFE Magazine, Photography by Carl Mydans

Gertrude Stein & Alice B. Toklas  

Influential figures in early 20th century literary and artistic circles, the American couple first met in Paris in 1906 and remained together until Stein’s death in 1946. In addition to collecting artthey hosted weekly salons in their apartment on rue Fleurus, which attracted to top artist and writers of the era. Stein wrote several books, including one on the great Spanish painter, Picasso(studied in our Modernism and Paris module of our Paris MA Programmes) and The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, a quasi-memoir of their Paris years written in the voice of Alice B. Toklas. Tolkas also published a few works: two cookbooks and an autobiography entitled What Is Remembered.  

Coccinelle in Europa di Notte, directed by Alessandro Blasetti

Coccinelle 

A transgender French actress, entertainer and singer, Jacqueline Charlotte Dufresnoy, who went by the stage name Coccinelle (French for ladybug/ladybird), was the first widely publicised post-war gender reassignment case in Europe. She made her debut as a transgender performer in 1953 at Madame Arthur, Paris’s first drag cabaret (which is still open and puts on an excellent show)In 1958 she underwent a vaginoplasty in Casablanca and became a media sensation upon returning to France. Her career continued to flourish, both on stage and on screen. I1960 she married journalist Francis Bonne, which was the first transgender union to be legally recognised in FranceThroughout her life, she was also an important advocate for transgender rights. 

Living In Arcadia André Baudry  

Living In Arcadia by Julian Jackson and André Baudry

André Baudry  

A former seminarian and philosophy professorAndré Baudry founded Arcadie in 1954, France’s first organisation for “homophiles, a term Baudry preferred to “homosexuals”. A magazine and clubhouse followed soon afterwards. At the time, it was the only public voice for French gays and, over the course of its 30-year history, it became the largest group of its kind in France. The organisation garnered the support of a range of personalities from Jean Cocteau to Michel Foucault, however, that isn’t to say things were always smooth sailing. After its launch, the magazine was censured and forbidden for sale to minors. In 1955, Baudry himself was prosecuted for “outrage aux bonnes mœurs” (outrage against good morals), convicted, and fined 400,000 francs. The history of the organisation, and this time period in France, are explored in Historian Julian Jackson’s book Living in Arcadia (University of Chicago Press, 2009).  

Writer James Balwin, Giovanni’s Room (1956)

James Baldwin 

American writer and activist James Baldwin first came to Paris at the age of 24, attracted to the greater freedom France offered him as both a person of colour and a homosexual. Shortly after his arrival, Baldwin got involved in the cultural radicalism movement that was brewing in the Rive GaucheHe was also working on his second novel, Giovanni’s Roomwhich was published in 1956. Set in Paris, the story revolves around a tormented love affair between the American narrator, David, and Giovanni, an Italian bartender. The book caused considerable controversy at the time of its publication due to its homoerotic content, but went on to become a seminal work in queer literatureYou can delve further into Giovanni’s Room in this powerpoint by Kent staff member Dr Declan Kavanagh or this article in the Guardian. Baldwin spent much of the rest of his life living in France, namely in the southern French village of Saint-Paul-de-Vence, where he settled in 1970. The writer’s contributions to the Paris’s cultural heritage will be honoured with a new media library dedicated to him, scheduled to open in 2023.  

Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé, 1983. Foundation Pierre Bergé Yves Saint Laurent.

Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé 

Partners in life and business, Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé’s impact on Paris’s creative world went far beyond fashion. Working as a designer for Dior, Yves Saint Laurent met businessman Pierre Bergé in 1958. They went on to launch Yves Saint Laurent’s own fashion house together in 1961. Although the couple’s relationship ended in 1976, they remained lifelong friends and business partners. In 2002 they created the Fondation Pierre-Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent in the designer’s former studio and offices, housed in a historic mansion in the 16th district of Paris. It hosts temporary exhibits on Saint Laurent’s work and provides support to cultural institutions and projects. You can view their collection online here or you may like to watch one of the two French films on the designer released in 2014; Jalil Lespert’s Yves Saint Laurent and Bertrand Bonello’s Saint Laurent, which was an official selection at that year’s Cannes Film Festival. You’ll have to watch both to decide which one you think is best! 

 

Further Resources  

120 bpm – This is another recent film we can highly recommendThe movie chronicles how ACT UP Paris fought to increase awareness of queer rights and information on the AIDS crisiin the early 1990s in France. Directed by Robin Campillo, it won the Grand Prix at Cannes in 2017 and six César Awards (the French Oscars) including Best Film. 

Les Mots à la Bouche – You can find an extensive collection of books and DVDs at this LGBTQ bookshop located in the 11th arrondissement. 

LGBTQ Centre Paris – This popular community centre in the Marais organises workshops, talkshas lending library and is a great resource on LGBTQ events, culture, wellbeing and activism in Paris.
 

What to do in Paris right now: 5 Covid and curfew safe activities 

Although many of Paris cultural institutions, including museums, historic sites and cinemas, are temporarily closed due to Covid-19 safety protocols, there are still a number of ways in which one can experience culture. From street art tours to virtual literary events, here are five creative alternatives cultural things to do in Paris that are both safe and accessible.

Street Art murals - Paris 75013

Street Art murals, Paris 75013. Photo: Lily Heise

Get Your Art Fix

Museums may be currently closed, however, most private art galleries around the city are open. Many of the best contemporary galleries are located in the Upper Marais, on and around rue Vieille du Temple (some are listed here). Or if you’re interested in more alternative contemporary art, you can discover Parisian street art by following one of these self-guided walking tours around Belleville or the 13th, two of the city’s top street art hubs.

Ten Belles Coffee Paris

Photo Courtesy of Ten Belles Paris

Enjoy Some Café Life

Although we are not able to sit on café terraces for the time being, a number of modern coffee shops are open for takeaway. Plus, the following ones are also close to great places for strolling, coffee in hand: Ten Belles (near the Canal St-Martin), Café Kitsuné (close to the Palais-Royal Garden and the Tuileries Gardens) KBOla’s Café and Marlette (bordering Montmartre).

MyFrenchFilmFestival.com

Experience French Cinema Culture

Film culture is very important in Paris and fortunately this isn’t completely paused right now. The Franco-German channel Arte is streaming some great free movies and documentaries, Lost in Frenchlation, a cool organisation which screens French cinema with subtitles in English and usually with Q&A with the director, is hosting some virtual events (the next one is Sat 23 January), or MyFrenchFilmFestival.com is currently taking place (through 15 February).

Author Rowan Hisayo Buchanan and her books Harmless Like you and Starling Days

Attend Literary Events

While in-person book readings and signings are on hold, there is a wide range of virtual events taking place. The American Library in Paris has several book groups as well as regular author talks (there are somegreat events coming up – rsvp required) or consider joining the Feminist Book Club (next online event 28 January), Paris Lit Up or one of these book clubs. These excellent English bookshops are also open right now.

Kent’s School of English also holds virtual events via its weekly Creative Writing Reading Series, held Tuesdays 6-7pm (GMT). On 26 January the guest will be Rowan Hisayo Buchanan, award-winning author of Harmless Like You and Starling Days. Join via Zoom here.

Photo courtesy of Chateau de Fontainebleau

Explore Ile-de-France

If you had been hoping to visit some of the historic sites in the Ile-de-France, the greater Parisian region, there are actually various opportunities. Although the interiors are closed for now, the gardens of many castles are still opened, like Versailles and Fontainebleau (the latter is also organizing tours of the gardens in French on weekends through the end of January). There are dozens of charming historic towns that are easy to get to from central Paris, like Provins, a well-preserved medieval town which is only an hour’s train ride away.

Immerse yourself in Paris and French culture through our MA programmes in Film Studies, the Philosophy of Art, Creative Writing and Medieval and Early Modern Studies. Learn more about our programmes here.