31 January 2011

February 2011 Readings & Events List

February 2011 Readings & Calls for work

Part I) Paris Events & READINGS by dates in February 2011 (readings have asterisks by them)
Part II) Creative Writing Workshops in Paris
Part III) News Reviews & Reviews News: publications, calls for work, new books & more!

Brought to you by Jane Cope & Jennifer K Dick.

(Please--IF YOU HAVE EVENTS, CALLS FOR WORK, etc for Feb OR March 2011 please send those announcements as early as possible, and in the format of the listings below if you can, to Jane Cope at parisrentree2010@gmail.com )

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Part I) Events & Readings by date in FEBRUARY 2011

1 Feb. 7:30PM. Educating Rita. Admission free. Reservation recommended. In English. With Julie Walters, Michael Caine, Maureen Lipman. AT: Centre Culturel Irlandais, 5 rue des Irlandais, 75005 Paris. RER: Luxembourg

1 Feb. - 27 March. Images of the African Diaspora in New York City Community Murals. An exhibition curated by Jane Weissman. AT: The American Library in Paris, 10, rue Général Camou 75007 Métro: Alma-Marceau

*2 Feb. 7:00PM David Nicholls will present and sign his book One Day, winner of the
Galaxy Book of the Year and Popular Fiction Book of the Year. The French translation Un Jour (Editions Belfond) will be available for sale at the event. AT: WH Smith 248 Rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris. Métro: Concorde (reserve a place via email please)

2 Feb. 3:00PM. Lute in the library with Jozef van Wissem. AT: Shakespeare & Co., 37rue de la Bûcherie, Paris 5ème. M° St Michel

2 Feb 7:00 PM: Rencontre avec MICHÈLE RIOT-SARCEY, qui a dirigé l’ouvrage De la différence des sexes. Le genre en histoire (Larousse). Huit historiennes et historiens se sont donné le mot pour tenter de comprendre comment les hiérarchies entre les sexes s’établissent, s’organisent, se redéfinissent en fonction des enjeux du temps jusqu’à marquer la totalité des sociétés humaines. De la Grèce antique au haut Moyen Age, de l’Empire romain à Byzance, du classicisme au romantisme, de la révolution industrielle à nos jours, la vision linéaire et progressiste se défait et déstabilise les certitudes. Poser un autre regard sur l’histoire permet de comprendre autrement le politique, le social, le religieux, le culturel des différents temps historiques qui ont participé à l’émergence de la civilisation occidentale. Avec des articles de A-M. Helvétius, A. Primi, M. Riot-Sarcey, V. Sébillotte-Cuchet, G. Sidéris, T. Späth, S. Steinberg et F. Thébaud. AT: Violette et Co, 102 rue de Charonne, 75011 Paris, M° Charonne ou Faidherbe-Chaligny.

2 Feb 7:30 P.M. MARLENE DIETRICH AND THE BLUE ANGEL. The reputation of Marlene Dietrich as singer and actress was launched by her 1929 film The Blue Angel. Produced in Berlin at the very moment the stock market crashed, precipitating the Great Depression, it became a symbol of a decadent Europe about to come to a catastrophic end. By then, however, with the help of Josef von Sternberg, the film's director (and her lover), Marlene was in Hollywood, being groomed into one of the most hallucinating of screen goddesses. John Baxter's VON STERNBERG, the first biography of the man some called "Dietrich's Svengali", tells the behind-the-scenes story of the perverse love affair that began on the set of The Blue Angel . The model of the tyrannical director, von Sternberg's bullying methods and eccentric behaviour disguised a genius in the photographing of women which has never been surpassed. As well as scenes from The Blue Angel, John will show some of the treasures from the American Library's collection of Dietrich memorabilia presented by the actress's family. AT American Library in Paris, 10 rue General Camou, 75007. Métro: Alma-Marceau

2 Feb. 7:30PM Evenings with an Author: John Baxter. John Baxter's Von Sternberg, the first biography of the man some called "Dietrich's Svengali," tells the behind-the-scenes story of the love affair that began on the set of The Blue Angel. As well as scenes from The Blue Angel, John will show some of the treasures from the American Library's collection of Dietrich memorabilia donated to the Library by the actress's family. About John Baxter: John Baxter is an Australian-born writer, journalist, and film-maker. The veteran biographer has made his home in Paris since 1989. He is the author of Immoveable feast: a Paris Christmas and A Pound of Paper, as well as biographies on George Lucas, Woody Allen,Stanley Kubrick, and Robert De Niro. AT: The American Library in Paris, 10, rue Général Camou 75007 Métro: Alma-Marceau

2 -3 Feb. 8:30PM Please join us at this unique screening of films from Le Tour du Blues en Quatre-Vingts Mondes / Around the Blues in Eighty Worlds. Text and films by Jean-Max Albert. Music by François Tusques. AT: l’ANGORA 3, blvd Richard Lenoir Paris 75011 M° Bastille

3 Feb 7:00 PM- Antoinette Fouque and the publishing house des femmes invite you to meet Carmen Boustani Prof. University of Beyrouth Lebanon and Venus Khoury-Ghata, novelist and poet, about women in wars : How do they live ? May writing revive traumas or help to overcome them ? AT: Espace des femmes 35 rue Jacob 75006 Paris Métro: Saint-Germain-des-Près

*3 Feb. 7:00PM ALAN RIDING And the Show Went On: Cultural Life in Nazi-Occupied Paris: The Village Voice Bookshop is proud to invite you to meet Alan Riding who will read from his latest book, And the Show Went On, published by Knopf. Alan Riding introduces us to a panoply of artists who kept working throughout the four year German occupation of France. Maurice Chevalier and Edith Piaf sang before French and German audiences. Pablo Picasso, whose art was officially banned, continued to paint in his Left Bank apartment. More than two hundred new French films were made, including Marcel Carné’s masterpiece Les Enfants du paradis. Thousands of books were published by authors as different as the virulent anti-Semite Céline and the anti-Nazis, Camus and Sartre. Meanwhile, as Jewish performers and creators were being forced to flee or, as was Irène Némirovsky, deported to death camps, a small number of artists and intellectuals joined the resistance. Throughout this penetrating and unsettling account, Alan Riding keeps alive the quandaries facing many of these artists and, by throwing light on this critical moment of twentieth century European cultural history, And the Show Went On focuses anew on whether artists and writers have a special duty to show moral leadership in moments of national trauma. For twelve years, Alan Riding was the European cultural correspondent for The New York Times. He was previously bureau chief for the Times in Paris, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Mexico City and is the author of the book, Distant Neighbors: A Portrait of the Mexicans. He has also written extensively on both the opera and Shakespeare. AT: Village Voice Bookshop 6, rue Princesse 75006 Métro: Mabillon

*3 Feb 7:00PM Steve Crawshaw will present and sign his book Small Acts of Resistance: How Courage, Tenacity, and a Bit of Ingenuity Can Change the World. Guest speaker: Geneviève Garriogos,President of Amnesty International France. The French translation
Petits actes de rebellion (Balland)will be published 21st January and is supported by Amnesty International who celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. AT: WH Smith 248 Rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris. Métro: Concorde (reserve a place via email please)

*3 Feb. 7:00PM Pascal Quignard: lecture de Inter par P. Quignard et ses traducteurs AT: Théâtre de l’Odéon, salon Roger Blin 8 Boulevard Berthier, Métro: Odéon.

3 Feb. 7:30PM Swimming with My Mother. Dance Performance by CoisCéim Dance Theatre. Admission free. Reservation recommended. In English. AT: Centre Culturel Irlandais, 5 rue des Irlandais, 75005 Paris. RER: Luxembourg

*3 Feb. 8:00PM, Pierre Autin-Grenier à la librairie Le Comptoir des mots. Rencontre & lecture avec Pierre Autin-Grenier, autour de son dernier livre : Elodie Cordou, la disparition, vu par Ronan Barrot (éditions du Chemin de fer) et de C'est tous les jours comme ça (Finitude) AT: Le comptoir des mots, 239 rue des Pyrénées, 75020 Paris Métro: Gambetta

4 Feb. Animation: “Comment fait-on une revue" AT: Forum des métiers de l'édition, Maison des Métallos : 94, rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud, 75011 Paris Métro: Couronnes.

*4 Feb. 5:00PM Autour de Miguel Hernández, salle Delpy: Récital sur l'œuvre de Miguel Hernández “Vientos del pueblo”par le poète Fernando Rubio Muñoz (Lanjarón, Granada)
AT: Institut d'Etudes Hispaniques et Latino-américaines 31, rue Gay-Lussac 75005 Paris RER: Luxembourg

*4 Feb. 6:00 PM. La librairie vous invite à rencontrer ROGER GRENIER à l'occasion de la parution de Le palais des livres (Editions Gallimard). AT: Librairie Les Cahiers de Colette, 23/25 rue Rambuteau 75004 Paris Tél: 01 42 72 95 06 http://www.lescahiersdecolette.com

*4 Feb 7:00 PM : Rencontre/lancement du n° spécial de la revue Critique “Bodybuilding. L’évolution des corps” (Minuit), en présence de THIERRY HOQUET, SYLVIE DUVERGER et PRISCILLE TOURAILLE. D’extraordinaires transformations (scientifiques, anthropologiques, sociales et morales) sont survenues dans ce qu’on peut appeler la “construction des corps”. C’est ce paysage bouleversés par de nouvelles théories, de nouvelles technologies et de nouvelles manières de vivre qu’explore ce numéro. Son titre, Bodybuilding, est à prendre littéralement et dans tous les sens. La “prise de forme” dont il est question ici n’est pas seulement l’évolution, que les scientifiques travaillent à élucider : c’est aussi la transformation du corps à laquelle s’efforcent ou se soumettent tant de nos contemporains. Ont participé à ce numéro, outre les intervenants : P. Blouin, J. Butler, S. Caianiello, F. Cézilly, E. Dorlin, M. de Gaudemar, X. Guchet, T. Heams, L. Hérault, L. Laplane, M. Morange et A. Nicoglou. AT: Violette et Co, 102 rue de Charonne, 75011 Paris, M° Charonne ou Faidherbe-Chaligny.

4-5 Feb. Friday 11h-20h, Saturday 14h-19h Céline réprouvé et classique au Centre Pompidou. Auteur d'exception, tant dans la démesure et l'atroce que dans la dénonciation de l'asservissement de l'individu, Céline a traversé le vingtième siècle en contemporain capital. Face à l'horreur de la guerre, du colonialisme, de la mécanisation et de l'implacable médiocrité de la vie sociale, il a établi un diagnostic sans appel, qui rend d'autant plus intolérable son revirement autoritaire et raciste de la fin des années trente, en pleine montée des périls, avant de revêtir les oripeaux de l'exilé, puis finalement du médecin des pauvres.
Cinquante après sa mort, les termes du cas Céline se sont déplacés, comme en témoigne la diffusion exceptionnelle de son oeuvre, traduite dans une trentaine de langues, et le foisonnement international des études qu'elle suscite. Sont premièrement interrogées sa place dans l'histoire littéraire et dans l'Histoire tout court, sur laquelle il ne cessa de remettre en cause la réalité des faits qui l'accablaient. Au fil des récentes publications, un public toujours plus large découvre aussi un autre Céline : la considérable oeuvre épistolaire a été largement traduite et présentée en Pléiade, provoquant un événement éditorial. Et tandis que le cinéma explore depuis des années des scénarios possibles, le théâtre, qui a été la première passion littéraire de Céline, multiplie les adaptations de son oeuvre. Qu'attendre, donc, désormais, de cette écriture foisonnante et vociférante, si ce n'est la redoutable efficacité d'un regard blessé et toujours vif sur le monde contemporain ? AT: Centre Pompidou, Place Georges Pompidou 75004 Paris. Métro: Rambuteau, Châtelet

4-5 Feb 8:30PM Yvonne Rainer and Sally Silvers: Assisted Living Good Sports 2 & Spiraling Down. Le Centre Pompidou est heureux d'accueillir la danseuse et chorégraphe américaine Yvonne Rainer, figure phare de la danse post-moderne américaine, formée chez Martha Graham et Merce Cunningham dans les années 60 . Au programme de cette soirée, Assisted Living : Good Sports 2 et Spiraling Down , ses deux dernières créations, ont en commun la diversité de leurs sources d'inspiration : photos de journaux, mouvements propres à certains sports, vieux films, danse moderne … Puisant son vocabulaire chorégraphique dans les actions élémentaires du quotidien, Yvonne Rainer va jusqu'à convier sur scène les « créateurs de l'ombre », scénographe, régisseur, créateur lumière, qui évoluent au milieu des danseurs, réaffirmant ainsi son rejet des artifices du spectacle. Dégagé du carcan de la technique et des codes chorégraphiques, le corps dansant est révélé dans toute son authenticité. AT: Centre Pompidou, Place Georges Pompidou 75004 Paris. Métro: Rambuteau, Châtelet

5 Feb. 10AM - 7PM. Monthly Used Booksale is held 10am-7pm. AT American Library in Paris10, rue Général Camou 75007. Métro: Alma-Marceau

5 Feb - 4-6pm Expat Expo Author Events at Parc Floral, Paris. WHSmith has invited some of our favourite expatriate authors to share their experiences and give advice on the exciting (but sometimes frustrating) challenge of being an expatriate in Paris. 4-5pm: Stephen Clarke bestselling author of A Year in the Merde and 1000 Years of Annoying the French will be discussing (in pre-publication) his new book Paris Revealed: The Secret Life of a City. WHSmith will offer an exclusive sampler of the book to all event guests. 5-6pm John Lichfield journalist for The Independent since 1986 and author of Our Man in Paris: A Foreign Correspondent, France and the French. Heather Stimmler-Hall American-born travel journalist, creator of SecretsofParis.com and author of Naughty Paris: A Lady’s Guide to the Sexy City. Charles Timoney author of Pardon My French: How to Unleash Your Inner Gaul and A Certain Je Ne Sais Quoi: The Ideal Guide to Sounding, Acting and Shrugging Like the French. To RSVP, please send an email with the number of guests and your contact information to books (at) whsmith (dot) fr with 'Expat Expo Event RSVP' as the object of the message. You will not receive a confirmation, but your name will be registered on our guest list. AT: WH Smith 248 Rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris. Métro: Concorde (reserve a place via email please)

*6 February 7:30PM MOVING PARTS presents the reading of a screenplay by Gautier Cazenave--SHERLOCK HOLMES versus FRANKENSTEIN. Translated from the original French by the author (with a little help from his friends, Stephen Muse and Stephanie Campion). AT: Carr's Pub & Restaurant, 1 rue du Mont Thabor, 75001 Metro : Tuileries

*7 February 7:00 PM P.O.L. & DALKEY ARCHIVE PRESS. The Review of Contemporary Fiction: The P.O.L. Number: To celebrate the release of of the Fall 2010 issue of Dalkey Archive's Review of Contemporary Fiction, dedicated to the French publishing firm P.O.L, the Village Voice bookshop is proud to invite you to meet authors, Leslie Kaplan, Marie Darrieussecq, Christine Montalbetti, Gérard Gavarry and Jacques Jouet. These authors have all been tranlated to English and their books are available at the Village Voice Bookshop. The authors, who will be introduced by John O'Brien, Editor of The Review of Contemporary Fiction and Director of Dalkey Archive Press and Paul Otchakovsly-Laurens, founder of the Editions P.O.L, will read from their work published in the review. AT: Village Voice Bookshop 6, rue Princesse 75006 Métro: Mabillon

*7 Feb. 7:00pm Identity Parade: New British and Irish Poetry, with A.B. Jackson, Annie Freud, Sally Read, Ahren Warner Roddy Lumsden (poetry). In celebration of Bloodaxe’s anthology Identity Parade: New British and Irish Poetry, there will be a night of poetry from some of the most interesting poets today. Featuring prize-winning poets A.B. Jackson, Annie Freud, Sally Read, Ahren Warner and editor and poet Roddy Lumsden, Identity Parade presents new British and Irish poetry at a time of great vibrancy and variety. It is the first anthology to comprehensively represent the generation of poets who have emerged since the mid-1990s. Eclectic, diverse and wide-ranging in scope, the book fully reflects the climate of ‘the pluralist now’. It offers the work of 85 highly individual and distinctive talents whose poems display the breadth of styles and approaches characteristic of our current poetry. AT: Shakespeare & Co., 37rue de la Bûcherie, Paris 5ème. M° St Michel

7 Feb. 21h onwards to midnight! SPOKEN WORD Paris: Come read YOUR work in ENGLISH, FRENCH, ITALIAN or any other language you would so like to share poetry in! You are also invited to play a short musical piece or read a poem by an author you admire if you so wish! To keep up on all things Spoken Word, check out our blog & sign up for our announcements listing. Reading AT: Cabaret Populaire/Culture Rapide, 103 rue Julien Lacroix, 75020 Paris Metro Belleville. http://spokenwordparis.blogspot.com/

*8 Feb. 7:00PM. Palabres centre-européennes à l’Institut hongrois, Palabres centre-européennes séance animée par Christine Lecerf, germaniste, journaliste, critique littéraire, productrice à France culture. Domaine germanique: Jean Améry, Les Naufragés, traduit de l'allemand par Sacha Zilberfarb, Arles, Actes Sud, 2010. Présenté par le traducteur [sous réserve]. Hans Magnus Enzensberger, Hammerstein ou L'intransigeance : une histoire allemande, traduit de l'allemand par Bernard Lortholary, Paris, Gallimard, 2010. Présenté par Georges Arthur Goldschmidt [sous réserve]. Domaine hongrois Sándor Márai, L’Etrangère, traduit du hongrois par Catherine Fay, Paris, Albin Michel, 2010. Présenté par András Kányádi, maître deconférences à l’Inalco.Imre Kertész, Journal de galère, traduit du hongrois par Natalia Zaremba-Huzsvai et Charles Zaremba, Arles, Actes Sud, 2010. Présenté par Luba Jurgenson, Université de Paris-Sorbonne et CIRCE. sous réserve de modification AT: Institut hongrois 92, rue Bonaparte, Paris 75006, tél : 01 43 26 06 44 Métro: Saint Sulpice

*8 Feb. 7:30PM. Quidam Editeur propose un moment d'échanges et de lectures avec Jacques Josse autour de son livre intitulé Cloués au port à 19h30. AT: la Maison de la Bretagne, 8 rue de l'arrivée 75015. Métro: Montparnasse-Bienvenue

8 Feb. 7:30PM Felix Rohatyn presents his memoir Dealings.It was a German soldier's chance decision to reach for a cigarette and absently wave a car through a checkpoint outside Marseille in 1940 that allowed Felix Rohatyn and his Jewish family to escape from Nazi-occupied France. In the States, a chance summer job led him to the small, private investment bank of Lazard Freres, where he came under the tutelage of legendary financier Andre Meyer. The summer job turned into an extraordinary fifty-year career. About Felix Rohatyn: Rohatyn is an American investment banker known for his role in preventing the bankruptcy of New York City in the 1970s. He served as United States Ambassador to France from 1997-2000. AT: The American Library in Paris, 10, rue Général Camou 75007 Métro: Alma-Marceau

*8 Feb. 8:00PM Laurent Noël et Tristan Felix Je, îl(e) déserte): Cantate pour six voix et Calypso de Laurent Noel et Tristan Felix. Production L’Usine à Muses. AT: Grand Parquet 20 bis rue du Département, 75018 Paris, M° La Chapelle

9 Feb. 3.30 PM. February Kids' Club Madeline at the White House. See Washington, D.C., as never before, when Madeline takes a midnight sightseeing tour on a magic carpet of cherry blossoms. Invited to the White House by Candle, the president's lonely only daughter, for the annual Easter Egg hunt and roll, Madeline and the other little girls have a rollicking good time, and introduce Candle to the joys of occasionally breaking the rules. With a bouncy read-aloud text and gorgeous watercolor pictures, Madeline at the White House is in the best tradition of the beloved Madeline books. To RSVP for this event, please send an email with the child's name, age and English level to books (at) whsmith (dot) fr with 'February Kids' Club RSVP' as the object of the message. Your child's name will automatically be registered on our guest list. AT: WH Smith 248 Rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris. Métro: Concorde (reserve a place via email please)

9 Feb 7:30PM Limericks Competition: Announcement of prize winners. Admission free, reservation recommended. In English and French. Numerous contestants participated in the limericks competition organized by the Centre Culturel Irlandais. More than 300 short poems were sent to the judges. This evening the lucky prize winners will be announced: two people, the best ones writing in English and in French, will enjoy a weekend in Limerick in the spring. There will be readings of some of the best entries. A warm welcome and an entertaining evening guaranteed! AT: Centre Culturel Irlandais, 5 rue des Irlandais, 75005 Paris. RER: Luxembourg

Until 10 February. MC93 Bobigny Theatre proposes a series of international productions in German, Dutch & Flemish with French subtitles during their Festival “Le Standard Idéal.” AT: 1 Boulevard Lénine 93000 Bobigny, France Tél: 01 41 60 72 60 Tram: Libération

*10 Feb. 7:15PM Anise Koltz / Lecture: Introduction de Marie-Claire Bancquart. Venez découvrir une des grandes dames de la littérature luxembourgeoise et européenne! De nationalité luxembourgeoise, Anise Koltz est aujourd´hui l´un des écrivains majeurs de la littérature francophone. D´ascendances tchèque, allemande, anglaise et belge, d´expressions allemande, française et luxembourgeoise, mais aussi héritière d´une famille qui a ardemment milité dès l´entre-deux guerre pour l´unité européenne, elle est l´une des figures les plus représentatives des lettres européennes. Et dans les librairies à partir du 13 janvier son nouvel ouvrage: ouvrage «je renaîtrai » aux Editions Arfuyen. AT: Ambassade du Luxembourg - 33, avenue Rapp - 75007 Paris Tel. 0033 (0)1 45 55 13 37 / Fax. 0033 (0)1 45 55 01 95 RER: Pont de Alma

10 Feb. at 7:00PM Dinaw Mengestu: The Village Voice Bookshop is proud to invite you to meet Dinaw Mengestu who will read from and discuss his latest novel, How to Read the Air. The new novel by the author of The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears is an immigrant story which tells a son's heartbreaking to recapture the harrowing years his parents went through just after their arrival in America. To be immigrants meant not only to be strangers in an alien world, it meant also to be strangers to themselves, strangers to eachother. And yet, How to Read the Air is an irresistable invitation to revisit the past and to own it for, as volatile as it may be, it is as vital as the air we breathe. Dinaw Mengestu's first novel, The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears (published in the UK under the title, Children of the Revolution) received the Guardian First Book Award. The author is also the recipient of a 2006 fellowship in fiction from the New York Foundation for the Arts and a 5 Under 35 Award from the National Book Foundation. Dinaw Mengestu will also be present at the Village Voice for the Granta 114: Aliens event on February 24th.

*10 Feb 7:00PM À l'occasion de la parution de Boxing Parade (Editions Gallimard/L'Arbalète), rencontre avec Pascale Bouhenic AT: Librairie Michèle Ignazi 17, rue de Jouy 75004 Paris Tél: 01 42 71 17 00 Métro : Saint-Paul ou Pont-Marie

*10 Feb: 7:00PM to 8:00PM For all you Oulipians and Oulipo fans out there, the monthly Rendez-vous réguliers, les jeudis de l'Oulipo, chers aux amateurs de jeux de l'esprit et de littérature potentielle, continuent d'explorer des thèmes d'actualité, proposant lectures et créations originales. Tonight’s theme “PECHES” (sins) AT: BNF François-Mitterrand, Grand auditorium, Entrée libre

11 Feb 7:00 PM : Vernissage et rencontre autour de MONIQUE WITTIG. Rencontre pour la parution du Chantier littéraire (co-éd. ixe et PU de Lyon) en présence de ORISTELLE BONIS (éditrice) et de CHRISTINE PLANTÉ (auteure de la préface). Cet ouvrage, à la fois inédit et familier puisque plusieurs sections ont été publiées sous d’autres formes, est issu du mémoire rédigé en 1986 par M. Wittig et qu’elle a largement retravaillé. Ici Wittig traite de ce qui est au centre de sa pratique : le travail de l’écrivain vu comme fabricateur de chevaux de Troie. Toute œuvre littéraire importante est une machine de guerre. Et on se rend compte combien le chantier littéraire et le combat politique sont chez Wittig indissociables. La rencontre sera suivie du vernissage de l’exposition “Sortie de chantier”, portraits de Monique Wittig par COLETTE GEOFFREY : “Elle marchait devant moi, j’allais voir la première de sa pièce Le voyage sans fin, au Théâtre du Rond-Point, en 1985. Elle s’est retournée et m’a souri. Je l’ai abordée avec l’audace de quelqu’un qui vient d’avoir son BTS cinéma : “Tu sais, j’aimerais faire ton portrait !” Ça l’a fait rire et elle m’a dit “on verra”... C’est ainsi que tout a commencé.” (C.G.) (exposition du 9 février au 6 mars) AT: Violette et Co, 102 rue de Charonne, 75011 Paris, M° Charonne ou Faidherbe-Chaligny.

12 Feb. 3:00PM Figures d'humanité conférence. Invité : Elias Sanbar. Les conférences « Figures d’humanité » entament leur deuxième saison. Le déclencheur de ce cycle est le dialogue, à près d’un siècle d’intervalle, de deux philosophes à propos de la question de l’humanité. Le 18 avril 1904, dans l’éditorial fondateur du journal qui porte ce nom, Jean Jaurès écrit : « L’humanité n’existe point encore ou elle existe à peine.» Le 4 mars 1999, dans les colonnes du même titre, Jacques Derrida commente ainsi cette formule : « Magnifique ! Intolérable ! Une telle audace doit éveiller chez certains des pulsions meurtrières… Ils ne supporteraient pas de voir mettre en question tremblée ce qu’ils CROIENT SAVOIR. » A propos de cette figure d’humanité, il s’agit donc de proposer à des philosophes, des poètes, des penseurs de divers ordres, de s’interroger sur cet indéterminé et cette promesse, à la lumière de la réflexion qu’ils poursuivent dans leurs domaines respectifs. AT: La maison de la poesie, Passage Molière - 157, rue Saint-Martin, 75003 Paris – Tel: 01 44 54 53 00, M° Rambuteau - RER Les Halles

*12 Feb. 5:00PM La république des poètes: Revue parlée animée par Marc Blanchet sur l’actualité poétique. Invité : Zéno Bianu pour le recueil de poèmes Le Désespoir n'existe pas, anthologie de sa poésie, éditions Gallimard. Quatrième année de ces rencontres à la Maison de la Poésie-Paris, avec la mise en avant de maisons d’édition et de leurs auteurs «maison», pour entendre des poètes mais connaître aussi dans le temps la vie éditoriale des éditeurs français, petits et grands. La République des poètes a pour voeu d’accueillir poètes, traducteurs, essayistes, éditeurs, responsables de revue : tous ceux qui d’une manière ou d’une autre font "l’actualité poétique». Faire connaissance suppose ici d’entrer dans les textes des auteurs invités ou publiés, de partager ces langues poétiques aussi diverses soient-elles pour que la singularité de chacune trouve sa place, simplement, justement, le temps d’une rencontre. Avec bienveillance,mais sans complaisance, devant le texte et non devant des modes, nous discutons, interrompus avec plaisir pour la vérité nécessaire d’une lecture, de la voix du poète ou en complicité avec un invité ou un comédien. AT: La maison de la poesie, Passage Molière - 157, rue Saint-Martin, 75003 Paris – Tel: 01 44 54 53 00, M° Rambuteau - RER Les Halles

*12 Feb. 7:00PM A l'occasion de la parution de Dans la nuit de samedi à dimanche (Editions Verticales), rencontre avec Nicole Caligaris. AT: Librairie Michèle Ignazi 17, rue de Jouy 75004. Tél: 01 42 71 17 00 Métro : Saint-Paul ou Pont-Marie

Until Feb 12: “La Comédie des Erreurs” Directed by Dan Jemmett. In French. AT: Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord, 09 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis, 75010. Métro: Louis Blanc Réservations: 01 46 07 34 50

Until Feb 13: “La Tempête” Directed by Declan Donnellan. In Russian with French subtitles. AT: Théâtre Les Gémeaux Scène National Sceaux 49 Avenue Georges Clemenceau 92330 Sceaux. RER: Bourg-la-Reine Réservations: 01 46 61 36 67.

*14 Feb. 7:00PM. Lecture de Nino Haratischwili : Juja. Lecture en allemand par l'auteur. Lecture en français et présentation animée par Alban Lefranc (écrivain et traducteur). Dans son premier roman, la dramaturge Nino Haratischwili s'inspire d'un fait réel survenu dans les années 1970: le livre d'une jeune inconnue, Jeanne Saré, qui s'est suicidée vingt ans auparavant, devient un véritable succès, notamment dans le milieu féministe. Chargé de haine et d'une poésie glaciale, il pousse un certain nombre de jeunes femmes au suicide. Aujourd'hui encore, le flou persiste quant à l'origine et la genèse de ce texte et quelques curieux se lancent sur les traces de cette jeune fille mystérieuse. Pour accompagner la lecture, l'artiste hambourgeoise Julia Bührle-Nowikowa réalise un collage d'images numériques, de peintures, dessins et photographies, qui sera projeté sous forme de vidéo. Née en Géorgie en 1983, Nino Haratischwili dirige la compagnie de théâtre bilingue « Fliedertheater » de 1998 à 2003 et monte plusieurs pièces en Allemagne et en Géorgie. Elle a publié plusieurs pièces et un récit. Son premier roman Juja (Verbrecher Verlag) fait partie de la première sélection du Prix du livre allemand 2010. AT: Goethe-Institut - 17 avenue d'Iéna, 75116 Paris Métro: Iéna

14 Feb. 21h onwards to midnight! SPOKEN WORD Paris: Come read YOUR work in ENGLISH, FRENCH, ITALIAN or any other language you would so like to share poetry in! You are also invited to play a short musical piece or read a poem by an author you admire if you so wish! To keep up on all things Spoken Word, check out our blog & sign up for our announcements listing. Reading AT: Cabaret Populaire/Culture Rapide, 103 rue Julien Lacroix, 75020 Paris Metro Belleville. http://spokenwordparis.blogspot.com/

*15 Feb 7:30PM. Poets Live reading ith steve dalachinsky, Yuko Otomo and Nina Karacosta. steve dalachinsky is from Brooklyn, New York. His work has appeared extensively in journals on & off line, in many chapbooks, books, and CDs. He writes for the Brooklyn Rail as a contributing writer. Yuko Otomo is a bilingual (Japanese & English) poet & a visual artist (in pursuit of Pure Abstraction). Her publications includes "Small Poems", "The Hand of The Poet" (both from Ugly Duckling Presse) & "A Sunday Afternoon on the Isle of Museum" (Propaganda Press) & "Fragile" (Sisyphus Press). Nina Karacosta is an actor and poet. Work of hers has appeared in Pomegranate Seeds: An Anthology of Greek-American Poetry, Best of Stain Anthology, Surreal-zine, The Melancholy Dane, The Smoking book, Ditch, Upstairs at Duroc. She will launch her new chapbook at the event. AT: Carr’s Pub & Restaurant, 1 rue de Mont Thabor, M Tuileries. Email poets@live.fr, browse poets-live.com

15 Feb. 7:30PM Compagnie by Samuel Beckett. A film of the theatrical presentation, directed by Pierre Chabert and performed by Pierre Dux (1984). AT: Centre Culturel Irlandais, 5 rue des Irlandais, 75005 Paris. RER: Luxembourg

*16 Feb. 1:00 - 2:30 P.M. Claude Louis-Combet: traducteur, essayiste et romancier, écrivain de l’expérience intérieure et créateur du genre mythobiographique, Claude Louis-Combet, à l’occasion de ses trois dernières publications, est l’invité de la Maison des écrivains et de la littérature. AT: l’auditorium du Petit Palais, Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris. Métro: Champs-Elysees Clemenceau

*17 February 6:00PM Bard-sur-Seine (reading of Henry V, places all filled & not open to public). AT: Shakespeare & Co., 37rue de la Bûcherie, Paris 5ème. M° St Michel

*17 February 7:30PM John Banville. admission free, reservation recommended in English. Winner of the Booker Prize for his novel The Sea, John Banville is considered as one of the most important living English language writers. Known for his precise style, ingenuity and humour, he also makes forays into crime fiction under the pseudonym Benjamin Black. This rencontre is organized on the occasion of the launch of French versions of The Infinities (Infinis) and, as Benjamin Black, The Silver Swan (La double vie de Laura Swan), published by Editions Robert Laffont. AT: Centre Culturel Irlandais, 5 rue des Irlandais, 75005 Paris. RER: Luxembourg

18 February 6-7:00PM Yvon's Paris signing by Robert Stevens (photography books signing) AT: Shakespeare & Co., 37rue de la Bûcherie, Paris 5ème. M° St Michel

*20 Feb 7:30PM MOVING PARTS reading of Isabel Eastman's "Irresistible" (in English). AT: Carr's Pub & Restaurant, 1 rue du Mont Thabor, 75001 Metro : Tuileries

21 Feb. 21h onwards to midnight! SPOKEN WORD Paris: Come read YOUR work in ENGLISH, FRENCH, ITALIAN or any other language you would so like to share poetry in! You are also invited to play a short musical piece or read a poem by an author you admire if you so wish! To keep up on all things Spoken Word, check out our blog & sign up for our announcements listing. Reading AT: Cabaret Populaire/Culture Rapide, 103 rue Julien Lacroix, 75020 Paris Metro Belleville. http://spokenwordparis.blogspot.com/

22 Feb. - 3 April Exposition de Henry de Monfried. Le don des héritiers d’Henry de Monfreid (1879-1974) à la Société de Géographie de documents exceptionnels (papiers personnels, lettres, journaux de bord, photographies stéréoscopiques, films et enregistrements sonores de l’auteur) est l’occasion de retracer, à travers ses aventures dans la Corne de l’Afrique et en Mer Rouge, les multiples facettes de l’écrivain-voyageur. AT: BNF François-Mitterrand, Grand auditorium, Entrée libre

*22 Feb. 7:00 PM : Rencontre avec CLAUDINE LEBÈGUE pour la parution de son roman (accompagné d’un CD) A ma zone (La passe du vent). Claudine Lebègue est auteure, compositrice, interprète, comédienne, accordéoniste et maintenant écrivaine. Avec ce livre elle retrace en de courts chapitres une enfance de HLM à Villeneuve-la-Garenne dans les années 60. C’est poétique, drôle, émouvant, généreux, tendre, intelligent, une vraie découverte. Un récit qui fait du bien, sans fausse nostalgie, un retour sur une enfance pas malheureuse qui a fait de Claudine Lebègue une femme libre. Musicienne, elle était en première partie de la tournée d’Anne Sylvestre en 2001-2002. Elle a créé un spectacle également intitulé “A ma zone” au Festival d’Avignon 2009 et le CD de ses treize chansons est inclus dans le livre. Pour la présentation à Violette and Co, elle interprétera de sa voix chaude un extrait du CD, ce “slam-musette pour mélomanes de HLM”. AT: Violette et Co, 102 rue de Charonne, 75011 Paris, M° Charonne ou Faidherbe-Chaligny.

22 Feb. 7:30PM La dernière bande by Samuel Beckett. A film of the theatrical presentation, directed by Samuel Beckett and performed by Pierre Chabert. AT: Centre Culturel Irlandais, 5 rue des Irlandais, 75005 Paris. RER: Luxembourg

22 Feb. 7:30PM 22 À la SCAM, « La Poésie s'appelle reviens », de Gilles Weinzaepflen projection du film documentaire « La Poésie s'appelle reviens », de Gilles Weinzaepflen. Le nombre de places étant limité, merci de confirmer votre venue par mail(gillestoogatgmail.com). « La Poésie s'appelle reviens ». Un film de Gilles Weinzaepflen, avec Nathalie Quintane, Ivar Ch'Vavar, Lucien Suel, Julien Blaine, Yves di Manno, Paul Otchakovsky-Laurens, Dorothée Volut, Eric Pesty, Jean-Marie Gleize, Stéphane Bérard, Noura Wedell, Jérôme Mauche, Anne-James Chaton, Christophe Tarkos, Charles Pennequin, Rudy Riciotti, Antoine Dufeu, Sylvain Courtoux. AT: 5 avenue Vélasquez - 75008 Paris, Métro: Monceau

23 Feb. 7:30PM. Leila Garfield : Berlin - Visages d'une ville. Vernissage le mercredi 23 février à 19h30.Le Goethe-Institut présente, avec le soutien du showroom Walter Knoll, de jeunes photographes qui travaillent dans le contexte franco-allemand. La Française Leila Garfield inaugure cette série. Pour elle, comme pour tant d'autres, Berlin est devenue la seconde patrie. La jeune photographe s'y est rendue pour saisir sur le vif toutes les impressions d'une métropole en perpétuel mouvement. L'exposition « Berlin - Visages d'une ville » est une sélection de travaux des deux séries « Berlin everyday » et « Warum Berlin ». Tandis que la première reflète le quotidien de la capitale allemande, Leila Garfield, avec la seconde, dévoile surtout son amour des gens. Qu'il s'agisse de Berlinois pur jus ou d'adoption, ses photos magnifiques en noir et blanc font le portrait intime des habitants d'une ville qui bat. Une déclaration d'amour toute personnelle à Berlin. Née en 1981 à Paris, Leila Garfield étudie le cinéma à la Sorbonne Nouvelle et la photographie expérimentale et le graphisme à l'École des Beaux-Arts de Berlin. Depuis 2004, elle se partage entre Paris et Berlin et expose régulièrement dans les deux capitales. AT: Goethe-Institut - 17 avenue d'Iéna, 75116 Paris Métro: Iéna

23 Feb.7:30PM Evenings with an Author: John V. Fleming.Professor Emeritus John V. Fleming presents his book The Anti-Communist Manifestos: Four Books that Shaped the Cold War. The books altered the course of history; the lives behind them have the dark fascination of fiction. The subject of The Anti-Communist Manifestos is four influential books that informed the great political struggle known as the Cold War: Darkness at Noon (1940), by Arthur Koestler, a Hungarian journalist and polymath intellectual; Out of the Night (1941), by Jan Valtin, a German sailor and labor agitator; I Chose Freedom (1946), by Victor Kravchenko, a Soviet engineer; and Witness (1952), by Whittaker Chambers, an American journalist. The authors were ex-Communist Party members whose bitter disillusionment led them to turn on their former allegiance in literary fury. John V. Fleming's humane and ironic narrative of these grim lives reveals that words were the true driving force behind the Cold War. About John V. Fleming: John V. Fleming graduated from the University of the South (Sewanee) in 1958. He then went for three years as a Rhodes Scholar to Oxford, where he took a honours BA in English. He next spent two years at Princeton getting a Ph.D. (1963), before becoming an Instructor in English at the University of Wisconsin. He returned to Princeton in 1965, where he taught until his retirement in 2006. AT: The American Library in Paris, 10, rue Général Camou 75007 Métro: Alma-Marceau

24 Feb. 7:00PM Vestoj (magic, magazine launch) - please reconfirm date on Shakespeare & Co website. Roll up! Roll up! In order to celebrate the second issue of Vestoj - The Journal of Sartorial Matters, themed around fashion and magic, we invite you to an evening of ‘Magic for Beginners’. On Thursday 24st of February we will treat you to music, magicians, tarot card readers, seances, ouija boards and all sorts of magical games that you may or may not remember from when you were still a kid. Come drink the elixir of youth with us and taste the confit that Nostradamus made for Catherine de Medici in the 16th Century. Listen to us reading about the mystical properties of dress, have your future divined and attempt to communicate with the spirits of comrades lost or found. We can’t wait to share some magic with you! AT: Shakespeare & Co., 37rue de la Bûcherie, Paris 5ème. M° St Michel

*24 February 7:00PM To celebrate the publication of Granta 114: Aliens, the Village Voice Bookshop and Granta have the pleasure of inviting you to meet authors Mark Gevisser and Dinaw Mengestu. Whether it’s the closely observed ecology of married life or the violent acts of criminals operating from afar, Granta 114: Aliens draws into focus one of the most pressing issues of our time: Who do we call outsiders? In Edenvale, Mark Gevisser writes of five decades of friendship between two gay South-African men who live out their secret lives in a counter-cultural, apartheid-era Johannesburg, under a regime determined to keep black and white apart. The author is also a journalist and is best known for A Legacy of Liberation, his biography of Thabo Mbeki – South Africa’s second democratically elected president. Dinaw Mengestu: In They Always Come In the Night, Dinaw Mengestu reports on a war in the Congo managed by exiles in France. Dinaw Mengestu is a novelist whose work includes the critically acclaimed The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears and the newly released How to Read the Air which he will be presenting at the Village Voice on February, 10th. This event is part of Granta’s viral project "I Am an Alien". To keep informed you can visit either the Granta website or their Facebook page. AT: Village Voice Bookshop 6, rue Princesse 75006 Métro: Mabillon

*28 Feb. 7:00 P.M. Christoph Meckel: Portrait-robot. Mon père / Portrait-robot. Ma mère. En présence de l'auteur, de son éditeur Pascal Arnaud, et de la libraire et agent littéraire Catherine Houssay. À vingt ans d'intervalle, Christoph Meckel a écrit le portrait de son père, écrivain idéaliste et apolitique incapable d'assumer ses contradictions, et celui de sa mère, « icône du protestantisme féminin », sans tendresse ni amour pour son fils. Publiés en diptyque, ces deux récits radiographient l'univers intime de l'Allemagne d'hier et le séisme auquel son peuple doit encore faire face aujourd'hui. Christoph Meckel, né à Berlin en 1935, a fait des études de graphisme à Fribourg et Munich et vit actuellement entre Berlin, Fribourg et le sud-est de la France. Il a remporté de nombreux prix pour l'ensemble de son oeuvre : le prix Rainer Maria Rilke (1979), le prix Georg Trakl (1982) ou encore le prix Joseph Breitbach (2003). Il est notamment l'auteur de Un inconnu : récit (Le Temps qu'il fait, 2007) et de La Ville de cuivre (Gallimard, 1993). AT: Goethe-Institut - 17 avenue d'Iéna, 75116 Paris Métro: Iéna

*28 Feb. 7:00 PM Alan Jenkins, Blue Days (The Sailor's Return): Alan Jenkins, prize-winning author of the collections The Drift, Harm and A Shorter Life, returns to Shakespeare and Company to read his new book of poems, Blue Days (The Sailor’s Return). The two salty, interlocking sequences of poems slide in and out of each other as teasingly and ungraspably as their speaker slides in and out of love – and sex – with a woman or series of women variously recalled as mermaids, dutiful daughters and heiresses to shipping fortunes. Unable to resist the siren call of memory, the sensual pull of the tide, this ancient mariner has lingered in the chambers of the sea too long, and recalls the landfalls of his life with haunting directness. The text is accompanied by four stunningly evocative images by William Pownall. AT: Shakespeare & Co., 37rue de la Bûcherie, Paris 5ème. M° St Michel

28 Feb. 21h onwards to midnight! SPOKEN WORD Paris: Come read YOUR work in ENGLISH, FRENCH, ITALIAN or any other language you would so like to share poetry in! You are also invited to play a short musical piece or read a poem by an author you admire if you so wish! To keep up on all things Spoken Word, check out our blog & sign up for our announcements listing. Reading AT: Cabaret Populaire/Culture Rapide, 103 rue Julien Lacroix, 75020 Paris Metro Belleville. http://spokenwordparis.blogspot.com/

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Part II) Creative Writing Workshops in PARIS


7 & 28 February: Slam: De Bouche à l'Oreille au Centre Pompidou. Dire des textes de poésie de son crû, devant un public: le slam est arrivé en France à partir des États-Unis vers la fin des années 90. Depuis, il est rapidement devenu une discipline de poésie reconnue, pour faire vivre la langue française autrement. » Suite des ateliers d'écriture de slam organisé par la Bpi, ouverts à tous, sur inscription *. À chaque séance, deux slameurs du collectif Slam Tribu proposent de vous initier au slam.On écoute, on lit des textes ensemble puis on écrit les siens… et on les offre aux autres. Venez nombreux, on vous attend! AT: Centre Pompidou, Place Georges Pompidou 75004 Paris. Métro: Rambuteau, Châtelet Reservations: ateliers d'écriture (ouvert à 20 personnes sur inscription) tel. 01 44 78 44 52 ou verdeille@bpi.fr

Theatre Classes in English: A novel way to practice your English and acquire acting skills. Call 01 77 15 71 90 or write wordsaliveo@gmail.com www.wordsaliveo.info

Hidden Selves: A Character Workshop:: Just as a sculptor chisels stone to reveal the figures within, so a writer uses words to shape the abstract natures of his or her own imagination. Discover some of the voices that speak through you and learn how to turn them into compelling characters and narratives to make your writing stronger and more effective. This course is intended for fiction writers in any genre, especially those closet memoirists who prefer to camouflage their own acquaintances in the guise of fiction! (You know who you are!) It overbooked in its debut season this fall so don't wait to enroll. Instructor: "Hemingway-ESQUE David Barnes" is a Paris based writer, teacher, and workshop facilitator. He won Shakespeare & Company's Travel in Words Competition in 2006 and is the dedicated host of the lively and much-talked-about Spoken Word Paris, held weekly at the Cabaret Pop in Belleville. You must be a member of WICE to take this course. Pre-registration required. Date: Mondays, February 28; March 7, 14, 21, 28 Time: 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. Code: WF281 Fee: 125€ Place: Maison Paroissiale, 13 place Etienne Pernet, 75015 Paris; Métro: Félix Faure; Bus: 70 or 88.

Date: Sat March 19 (2pm- 5pm) & Sun March 20 (11am – 5pm). Writer Lisa Pasold offers DON’T JUST SIT THERE: a literary workshop on finding and unleashing your creative inspiration. Want to write? Keep meaning to start that project? Stuck at page 32? Don’t Just Sit There! In this weekend workshop, discover how inspiration is like breathing. Instructor: Lisa Pasold has a decade of experience in teaching creative writing to writers of all levels. She has taught at the American University in Paris, at WICE, and has led workshops across Canada. Her first book of poetry was called “a masterpiece” by Geist Magazine; her second book of poetry was nominated for the Alberta Book Prize. Her recent novel Rats of Las Vegas is “as enticing as the lit-up Las Vegas strip and as satisfying as a winning hand at poker” according to The Winnipeg Free Press. Fee: 60 euros for weekend (limited space, pre-registration essential) For a full outline of the workshop & to register, visit http://www.lisapasold.com/calendar.html

Tuesdays, March 1, 8, 15, 2:30 – 4:30 p.m. WICE offers a short course in memoir writing: Part II of Writing to Travel with Christine Buckley—well-traveled writer, journalist, speaker, co-author of Slave Hunter (Simon & Schuster 2009) and contributor to Best Women's Travel Writing 2010. Part workshop and part seminar, this course addresses practical pointers on the craft and the personal challenges and ethical questions that come up as you battle to find your story and tell your own "truth." Fee: 95€ You must be a member of WICE to attend and pre-registration is required. Enroll on line or call our office at 01 45 66 75 50

Thursday afternoons in March: WICE welcomes Left Bank local, Heather Hartley! Think you know Gertrude Stein, Hemingway, Joyce and Sylvia Beach? What about their sometimes overlooked and incredible neighbors, including George Orwell, Edith Wharton, Djuna Barnes, Lawrence Durrell, Janet Flanner, William Faulkner and Allen Ginsberg? And who is the striking, mysterious Kiki de Montparnasse? The poems and prose of these authors (and others) will serve as departure points for your own explorations on the page and on the street as you write and walk your way through Left Bank Literature—the perfect combination of literature, walking tours, and writing workshops, now being offered in two parts: The writing workshop on Thursdays, March 3, 17, 31—85€; and the walking tours on Thursdays, March 10 & 24—50€. (2:00-4:00 p.m.) Or, take all five classes for just 125€. You must be a member of WICE to attend. Heather Hartley is Paris Editor for Tin House magazine and curates the weekly reading series at Shakespeare & Company. She teaches creative writing and poetry at the American University of Paris, and is the author the poetry collection Knock Knock (Carnegie Mellon University Press, 2010).


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Part III) REVIEWS NEWS & NEW REVIEWS:


The Poets Live podcast posts recordings of our readings, including Jerome Rothenberg, Kazim Ali, Troy Yorke and Rufo Quintavalle. Go to http://poets-live.com/ and click on recordings at the top. If you want to be heard in the podcast applauding some brilliant poets, get yourself along to our next event, noted above.

CONTEST OPEN FOR POETRY BOOK SUBS: Begin the new year by entering the 2011 Sawtooth Poetry Prize contest! Via their new Submission Manager they’ll be using this year and from now on! CONTEST: January 1, 2011 through March 1, 2011, $1,500 for a book of poems. FinalJudge: Paul Hoover. The contest rules have changed a little as a result of the online submission format—take a look at them on Asahta’s home site http://ahsahtapress.boisestate.edu/index.htm To learn more about or support the press, read last year’s winner: 2010 Sawtooth Prize Winner: James Meetze, “Dayglomeetze.cov”.Terrance Hayes selected this collection of poems that are filled with light, from the sun of a perfect beach to the “icky cinematic / light” that pervades the mythic landscape of California. “Think of Thoreau inhabiting a city like San Diego, perhaps on a beach where ‘when brightness becomes your halo / it’s just sun / and nothing holy,’ and you will have a sense of the wonders of this collection. . . . Like the images of (sun)light and water that recur throughout Dayglo, James Meetze is a poet of irrepressible latitude and depth.” More about the book, including a sample poem, an extended bio of the author, and an author statement is available on Asahta’s site.

Cleveland State University Poetry Center Awards announces its First Book and Open Book Competitions. $1,000 and publication in the CSU Poetry Series is offered for the best full-length volumes of original poetry in English submitted between November 1, 2010 and February 15, 2011. The First Book Award is given to an author who has not previously published a book of poetry. The Open Competition is for poets who have previously published at least one full-length collection. For more information click here.

Issue.zero magazine finally out! Pick one up at SpokenWord Paris. You can also get a copy by contacting David Barnes and Maxime Daher at themag.paris@gmail.com. 28 poets & writers given one page each. Many of them read at SpokenWord. Including: Alexander Maksik - Stephen Troy Yorke - Tate Nanje - Barbara Roush - Helen O’Keeffe - Maxime Daher - Karin Schneider - Jessica Malcomson - Dylan Harris - Thérèse Will - Jeanne Gustafson - Jieni Fu - Elizabeth Jervis - Suzanne Allen - Alexa Rutherford - Nina Karacosta - Noah Cutler - James Melcher - Tanai Cardona - Tabitha Burns Álex Díez - J R Brady - Trudie Shannon - Julianne Sibiski - Edme de Beru - Mandoline Whittlesey - David Barnes - Conor Quinn

New magazine from the American University of Paris is now accepting submissions: CORE accepts submissions of essays, poetry, stories, photography, artwork, epistles, engravings...anything you like that we can somehow represent on paper. We are especially interested in academic/analytical writing, but if that's not the kind of writing you do, feel free to ignore what I just said. The theme for this edition is Architecture, to be taken in any sense you like: the architecture of an idea, a conversation, a relationship, a cat, a candy dispenser. It's really just about structure, and the way that you understand the composition and construction of things in your world. There is no particular length specification, but if your piece exceeds 1500 words, make sure you're truly taking advantage of all 1500. Submissions can be sent to this email address or to core.asm@gmail.com, and must be sent no later than March 21st. Submission does not guarantee selection for publication, and you are welcome to submit multiple pieces for consideration.


The current issue of Bone Bouquet, a journal of women's poetry, is now available. The issue features work from Carolyn Guinzio, Emily Skillings, Jennifer H. Fortin, Leigh Stein, Dawn Pendergast, Arielle Greenberg, Claire Hero, Becca Klaver, Jennifer Firestone, Tamiko Beyer, Kara Dorris, and Dana Teen Lomax. Additionally, their reading period is currently open. For more information, head to their website.

03 January 2011

January 2011 Paris Readings List: revised & expanded

January 2011 Readings & Calls for work
THE LIST (revised & expanded for the new year!!!):

Part I) Paris Events & READINGS by dates in January 2011 (readings have asterisks by them)
Part II) Creative Writing Workshops in Paris
Part III) News Reviews & Reviews News: publications, calls for work, new books & more! (this section is esp longer--some GREAT places looking for YOUR writing!)

Brought to you by Jane Cope & Jennifer K Dick.

(Please--IF YOU HAVE EVENTS, CALLS FOR WORK, etc for Feb 2011 please send those announcements as early as possible, and in the format of the listings below if you can, to Jane Cope at parisrentree2010@gmail.com )

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Part I) Events & Readings by date in JANUARY 2011!!!

*3 January 7:00 P.M. here will be a selection of readings launching the latest issue of literary magazine Chimera/ Chimère: participants include Michel Deguy, winner of the Prix Goncourt de France, and the Mallarmé Academy's Grand Prize; Katherine Gallagher, the Australian poet; Patrick Chapman, the Irish writer; Adam Biles, editor of Gulper Eel; Philip Wilson, the translator; and last but not least, Rufo Quintavalle, editor of nthposition and co-editor of Upstairs at Duroc. AT: Shakespeare & Co., 37rue de la Bûcherie, Paris 5ème. M° St Michel

*7 January 2:00 P.M. Alice Notley will talk & read in ENGLISH: Alice Notley à l'Université Paris Est Créteil. La conférence en anglais seront prolongées par une lecture et un débat. S'inscrivant dans le cadre du séminaire de master recherche sur l'écriture féminine aux Etats-Unis animé par Claire Fabre, Tatiana Weets et Vincent Broqua, ces conférences n'en sont pas moins ouvertes à tous. AT: Université Paris Est Créteil. Métro: Créteil Université. Plus d'infos: En salle de thèses de l'UPEC (bâtiment P) La salle des thèses se trouve au Centre Multidisciplinaire de Créteil, dans le bâtiment P (sciences) après avoir passé la bibliothèque universitaire. It is advisable to google the university map to clearly see how to get there—it is quick and easy once you’ve done that!

*Les 7, 8, 9 et 14, 15, 16 janvier 2011: LES GEANTS—a series of readings proposed to you at la maison de la poesie of Paris! Butor, Bauchau, Roubaud, Jaccottet, Glissant, Dupin, Heidsieck, Jouffroy... la langue française possède de grands poètes héritiers de ces temps où la poésie occupait une place fondamentale dans le monde. Leurs génies tissent le génie de notre langue. Ils font laboratoire. Nous devons écouter ces géants de notre temps. Nous offrons notre scène chaque saison à quelques-uns de ces géants de poésie. Cette année, trois journées exceptionnelles avec Bernard Noël, Michel Deguy et Yves Bonnefoy, une soirée rare avec Stéphane Hessel, un hommage à Pierre Seghers et Pierre Schaeffer. To see the exact programme online go to: http://www.maisondelapoesieparis.com/index.php?ssrub=7&url=spectacle/spectacle.php&cle=58 where you can get tickets and/or reserve your place! (Often the room DOES fill up, so DO reserve early!) AT; La maison de la poesie, Passage Molière - 157, rue Saint-Martin, 75003 Paris – Tel: 01 44 54 53 00, M° Rambuteau - RER Les Halles

8 January 10:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M. Monthly Used Booksale at The American Library. Books in English for 1 and 2 euros. AT: The American Library in Paris, 10, rue Général Camou 75007 Métro: Alma-Marceau

**8 Janvier 18h30--A Reading by French poet Bernard Noel preceded by a film projection! Dans le cadre de la journée « Bernard Noël » organisée par la Maison de la PoésieChristian Bourgoignie, Directeur du Centre Wallonie-Bruxelles à Paris, et Claude GUERRE Directeur de la Maison de la Poésie sont heureux de vous inviter à la présentation du livre de Bernard Noël : “Paul Trajman ou la main qui pense” (Editions Ypsilon) La projection du film Encre sur encre en compagnie de sa réalisatrice Sarah Blum précédera une lecture de Bernard Noël et le vernissage de l'exposition Paul Trajman en présence du peintre et de l'éditrice du livre, Isabella Checcaglini. Exposition à la librairie Wallonie-Bruxelles du 8 janvier au 5 février 2011. À découvrir à la Maison de la Poésie à 20 h 30 : l’Encre Géante de Paul Trajman. Programme du cycle « Les Géants » sur www.maisondelapoesieparis.com AT: Centre Wallonie-Bruxelles 46, rue Quincampoix - 75004 Paris M° Châtelet – les Halles ou Rambuteau Entrée libre dans la limite des places disponibles. Réservation souhaitée : 01 53 01 96 96 ou lettres@cwb.fr


*10 Jan: 21h onwards to midnight! SPOKEN WORD rings in the new year with TONIGHT’s FIRST OPEN MIKE READING of the SEASON! Come read YOUR work in ENGLISH, FRENCH, ITALIAN or any other language you would so like to share poetry in! You are also invited to play a short musical piece or read a poem by an author you admire if you so wish! To keep up on all things Spoken Word, check out our blog & sign up for our announcements listing. Reading AT: Cabaret Populaire/Culture Rapide, 103 rue Julien Lacroix, 75020 Paris Metro Belleville. http://spokenwordparis.blogspot.com/

*10 janvier à partir de 19h. A l'occasion de la parution de “L'Âge de verre” traduit de l'anglais par Maïtreyi et Nicolas Pesquès (José Corti) rencontre avec l’auteure americaine COLE SWENSEN. AT: Librairie Michèle Ignazi, 17, rue de Jouy, 75004 Paris, Metro St Paul, Tel: 01 42 71 17 00

*10 January 7:00 P.M. Adam Thirlwell, one of the most exciting British novelists today, will read from The Escape and possibly a selection of other work. ‘A novel where the humor is melancholic, the melancholy mischievous, and the talent startling.’ —Milan Kundera « Un roman dont l’humour est mélancolique, la mélancolie malicieuse et le talent impressionnant. » AT: Shakespeare & Co., 37rue de la Bûcherie, Paris 5ème. M° St Michel

*10 January 7:00 P.M. Ulrike Almut Sandig : Flamingos. En allemand et en français. Lecture en musique avec Ulrike Almut Sandig, Alban Lefranc (modération) et Marlen Pelny (guitare et chant). Dans son premier recueil de nouvelles, Ulrike Almut Sandig marie avec brio réalisme et surréalisme conférant parfois à ses écrits des allures de conte, et adopte une langue poétique singulière, douce et pénétrante. Où s'arrête la poésie? Où commence la chanson? Lors de leurs lectures-concerts, la musicienne Marlen Pelny et l'auteur Ulrike Almut Sandig fraient un chemin entre la poésie chantée et le poème. De manière presque fortuite, elles surprennent agréablement ceux qui pensent ne rien comprendre à la poésie. « Il faut dûment saluer l'entrée d'Ulrike Almut Sandig dans la prose. Ses histoires sont tristes, parfois tristes et belles, elles sont des contes du quotidien, parfois excentriques, mais surtout vivantes. » Ulrike Almut Sandig a étudié la religion et l'indologie avant d'entrer à l'Institut de littérature de Leipzig. Elle a publié plusieurs recueils de poésie très remarqués en Allemagne, dont Streumen (2007) et une pièce radiophonique, Hush little Baby (2008). En 2009, elle a reçu le Prix Leonce et Lena. Flamingos (Schöffling & Co) est son premier recueil en prose. AT: Goethe-Institut - 17 avenue d'Iéna, 75116 Paris Métro: Iéna

11 January 6:00 P.M. Lecture on Human Rights. admission free, reservation necessary (places limited) A series of lectures organised jointly by the Centre de Recherche sur les Droits de l'Homme et le Droit Humanitaire (UniversitÈ PanthÈon-Assas Paris II) and the Irish Centre for Human Rights (National University of Ireland, Galway), in partnership with the Centre Culturel Irlandais. For the 11th of January, the topic will be "Le procès des Khmers rouges devant les chambres extraordinaires des tribunaux cambodgiens," and it will be facilitated by David Boyle (ancien juriste des CETC). AT: Centre Culturel Irlandais, 5 rue des Irlandais, 75005 Paris. RER: Luxembourg

*11 January 7:00 P.M. A reading of DAN CHAON's Await Your Reply: To celebrate the publication in French by les Editions Albin Michel of Await Your Reply, under the title Cette vie ou une autre in the Terres d’Amérique collection, The Village Voice Bookshop has the pleasure of inviting you to meet and hear Dan Chaon read from his latest novel. AT: Village Voice Bookshop 6, rue Princesse 75006 Métro: Mabillon

*12 janvier à partir de 19h A l'occasion de la parution de “Le noyau de toute chose” Hubert Lucot (Editions P.O.L) “L'oeuvre des mers” Eugène Nicole (Editions de l'Olivier) “A coup de pied-de-mouche” Eugène Nicole (Le bleu du ciel) rencontre avec les auteures Eugène Nicole et Hubert Lucot. AT: Librairie Michèle Ignazi, 17, rue de Jouy, 75004 Paris, Metro St Paul, Tel: 01 42 71 17 00

*12 January 7:00 P.M. Rencontre avec FRANCESCO RAPAZZINI pour la parution de son ouvrage "Damia une diva française." La vie de Marise Damien, dite Damia (1889-1978), fut romanesque et sulfureuse. Née à Paris dans un milieu populaire, Damia affirme très tôt son goût de l’indépendance ; adolescente rebelle, elle fréquente les milieux interlopes qui se mêlent à Paris, joyeuse capitale de la fête et du plaisir à la veille de la Grande Guerre. Elle danse, chante. On la remarque, et cette beauté intemporelle devient au temps des Années folles une véritable idole dont la célébrité dépasse les frontières de l’hexagone. Sur scène, son jeu envoûte. Damia a inventé sa propre dramaturgie, marquée par l’expressionnisme allemand : elle a le geste épuré, son corps drapé de noir mis en lumière, le regard magnétique saisissant l’auditoire subjugué par sa voix grave et mélancolique qui fait merveille dans La Veuve ou Les Goélands. Juliette Gréco et Barbara lui doivent beaucoup, moins cependant qu’Edith Piaf qui a tout pris d’elle, surtout à ses débuts. Actrice, elle tourne avec Abel Gance et Sacha Guitry. Femme hardie, Damia est aussi vulnérable : elle s’adonne à l’opium, à la cocaïne et à l’alcool. Maîtresse de la danseuse Loïe Fuller, de la décoratrice Eileen Gray, elle s’étourdit avec des amants d’un jour, parfois pygmalions inspirés. Proust la connaît, Mauriac ira l’écouter à Bobino et Colette la fréquente, ainsi que Federico García Lorca, Simenon ou Jean Genet qui s’en inspire pour camper sa Divine dans Notre-Dame des Fleurs. Grâce à de nombreux inédits, Francesco Rapazzini dévoile dans cette première biographie de Damia le destin extraordinaire de la grande chanteuse réaliste. Sous sa plume surgissent une époque et un monde, le music-hall, où se côtoyaient sans façon artistes, hommes politiques, écrivains, peintres...Francesco Rapazzini a grandi entre Milan et Venise. Il vit à Paris depuis 1995. Journaliste, romancier, il est l’auteur d’Elisabeth de Gramont, avant-gardiste. Damia est publié chez Perrin. AT: Violette et Co, 102 rue de Charonne, 75011 Paris, M° Charonne ou Faidherbe-Chaligny.

*12 January 7:30 P.M. Evenings with an Author: Annie Cohen-Solal discusses her latest book Leo & His Circle: The Life of Leo Castelli. Leo Castelli was one of the most influential art dealer in American history. He launched the careers of several major American artists (including Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg) and made art dealers and commercial galleries better integrated into the modern art world than ever before. Annie Cohen-Solal's new biography, we now have a more comprehensive picture of this seminal figure, a complex and interesting individual who helped define contemporary American art. About Annie Cohen-Solal: Annie Cohen-Solal was born in Algeria. She is currently Professeur des Universités at the CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)-Paris and Research Fellow at Tisch School of the Arts, New York University. She first came to New York in 1989 as the Cultural Counselor to the French Embassy in the United States, after her Sartre biography, Sartre: A Life, had become an international best seller. Her encounter with Leo Castelli prompted her to shift her interest to the art world. Her book Leo & His Circle (Knopf) was published in May 2010. She lives in New York, Paris and Cortona. AT: The American Library in Paris, 10, rue Général Camou 75007 Métro: Alma-Marceau

*13 January 7:00 P.M. THOMAS GLADYSZ & The Diary of a Lost Girl: To celebrate the publication of a new edition of The Diary of a Lost Girl - The Village Voice Bookshop has the pleasure of inviting you to meet and hear editor Thomas Gladysz discuss this new book. The 1929 Louise Brooks film, Diary of a Lost Girl, is based on a bestselling book first published in 1905. Though little known today, the book was a sensation at the beginning of the 20th century. Controversy, debate, and lawsuits followed its publication. By the end of the Twenties, it had sold more than 1.2 million copies – ranking it among the bestselling books of its time. Was it – as many believed – the real-life diary of a young woman forced by circumstance into a life of prostitution? Or a sensational and clever fake, one of the first novels of its kind? This contested work by Margarete Bohme (1867-1939) inspired a popular sequel, a banned stage play, a parody, a score of imitators, and two silent films. The best remembered of these is the often revived 1929 G.W. Pabst film starring Brooks. This new edition of the original English language translation brings this notable work back into print after more than 100 years. This "Louise Brooks Edition" includes three dozen illustrations as well as a 20 page introduction by Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society, detailing the book's remarkable history and relationship to the acclaimed silent film. AT: Village Voice Bookshop 6, rue Princesse 75006 Métro: Mabillon

*13 janvier 19h-20h For all you Oulipians and Oulip fans out there, the monthly Rendez-vous réguliers, les jeudis de l'Oulipo, chers aux amateurs de jeux de l'esprit et de littérature potentielle, continuent d'explorer des thèmes d'actualité, proposant lectures et créations originales. Tonight’s theme “NOTES” AT: BNF François-Mitterrand, Grand auditorium, Entrée libre

*13 janvier à partir de 19h A l'occasion de la parution de “Le musée des valeurs sentimentales” (Editions Verticales) rencontre avec l’auteure Gaëlle Obiegly. AT: Librairie Michèle Ignazi, 17, rue de Jouy, 75004 Paris, Metro St Paul, Tel: 01 42 71 17 00


*14, 15, 16 janvier 2011: the second half of the reading programme of events organized under the title “LES GEANTS”—a series of readings proposed to you at la maison de la poesie of Paris! Cette année, trois journées exceptionnelles avec Bernard Noël, Michel Deguy et Yves Bonnefoy, une soirée rare avec Stéphane Hessel, un hommage à Pierre Seghers et Pierre Schaeffer. To see the exact programme online go to: http://www.maisondelapoesieparis.com/index.php?ssrub=7&url=spectacle/spectacle.php&cle=58 where you can get tickets and/or reserve your place! (Often the room DOES fill up, so DO reserve early!) AT; La maison de la poesie, Passage Molière - 157, rue Saint-Martin, 75003 Paris – Tel: 01 44 54 53 00, M° Rambuteau - RER Les Halles

14 janvier, 10h-17h: Journée d'études "Women, Racism and Eugenics" Journée d'études GRER-ICT Organisée par Florence Binard et Michel Prum. Matin : modératrice, Claudine Delphis 10h- 10h15 Introduction Michel Prum 10h15-11-15h Julie Gottlieb "The Gender of Tolerance and Hate: Women, philo-Semitism, and anti-Semitism in Britain in the 1930s and 1940s." Pause 11h15 -11h30 11h 30- 12h-15 Bénédicte Deschamps "Italian mothers VS US flappers: gender and ethnicity in the Italian-American communities before WWII" Pause repas Après midi : modératrice, Françoise Barret-Ducrocq 14h-15h Pat Thane "Gender and the panic about population decline, 1920s-1950s" 15h-15h45 Florence Binard « Charlotte Cowdroy and 'Wasted Womanhood' in the inter-war period in Britain » 15h45-16h Pause 16h - 16h45 Alexandrine Nedelec "Les femmes d'origine ethnique minoritaire dans les professions juridiques en Angleterre et au pays de Galles" 16h45 Clôture Françoise Barret-Ducrocq. AT: 5 rue Watt 75013, Salle 207, 2è étage

14 January 7:00 P.M. Vernissage de l’exposition de photographies de MATHILDE BOUVARD "Féministe et militante - La nouvelle vague de militantes !" AT: Violette et Co, 102 rue de Charonne, 75011 Paris, M° Charonne ou Faidherbe-Chaligny.

15 January 9:30 A.M. to 4:45 P.M. : A conference open to the public including many talks on the author Raymond Queneau: L’Équipe de recherches sur Raymond Queneau de l’Université Paris III (EA 4400 « Écritures de la modernité ») et l’Association des Amis de Valentin Brû organisent le samedi 15 janvier 2011 de 9 h 30 à 12 h 45 et de 14 h 45 à 16 h 45 la 13ème Journée Queneau de Paris III au Centre Universitaire Censier (salle 410, 4ème étage). AT: Centre Universitaire Censier 13 rue de Santeuil, 75005 Paris Métro: Censier-Daubenton


*15 January 8pm Steve Dalachinsky reads/performs with yuko otomo & didier lassere on batterie AT: the house of marie gastaut,7, rue andré de sarte 5th fl codes 2580 A 8520B. To make a reservation call bertrand gastaut 06 83 49 29 41

*16 January 4pm American NY poet Steve Dalachinsky reads/performs with musicians noah rosen alan silva aldridge hansberry and rasul sadik. AT: espace z'Avante Garde, 137 rue de Sevres metro duroc

*17 January 7:00 P.M. Acclaimed writer Peter Manseau will read from his novel Songs for the Butcher’s Daughter which will be published in February here in France by Editions Christian Bourgois. Winner of the National Jewish Book Award for fiction and the Sophie Brody Medal for Outstanding Achievement in Jewish Literature, this is a novel of faith lost and hope found in translation, at once an immigrant’s epic saga, a love story for the ages it is a Yiddish-inflected laughing-through-tears tour of world history for Jews and Gentiles alike, ‘An extraordinary novel, and Itsik Malpesh is one of literature's most stunning achievements.’—Junot Díaz AT: Shakespeare & Co., 37rue de la Bûcherie, Paris 5ème. M° St Michel

*17 Jan: 21h onwards to midnight! SPOKEN WORD invites you to come read YOUR work in ENGLISH, FRENCH, or any other language you would so like to share prose or poetry in! You are also invited to play a short musical piece or read a poem by an author you admire if you so wish! To keep up on all things Spoken Word, check out our blog & sign up for our announcements listing. Reading AT: Cabaret Populaire/Culture Rapide, 103 rue Julien Lacroix, 75020 Paris Metro Belleville. http://spokenwordparis.blogspot.com/

*18 January at 7:30pm. IVY Writers Paris presented by Michelle Noteboom & Jennifer K Dick invite you to come out for a spectacular BILINGUAL reading with French & American poets, critics and translators PHILIPPE BECK and GUY BENNETT! BIOS: Guy Bennett is a poet/translator and author. He has a Ph.D. in French Literature from UCLA. His collections of poetry include · 32 Snapshots of Marseilles. Corvalis, OR: Sacrifice Press, 2010. · Without Weight of Light. Cleveland: NeO-Pepper Press, 2006. Drive to Cluster (Piacenza, Italy: ML & NLF, 2003), and, with Béatrice Mousli, . · of Poésies des deux mondes: un dialogue franco-américain à travers les revues, 1850-2004 (Paris: Ent'revues, 2004). His poems have appeared in magazines and anthologies in Brazil, Canada, France, Italy, Mexico, Morocco, and the USA. Recent translations include works by Nicole Brossard, Jean-Michel Espitallier, Mostafa Nissabouri, Valère Novarina, Jacques Roubaud, and Giovanna Sandri. Guy Bennett is the publisher of Mindmade Books, co-editor of Seismicity Editions, and is a contributing editor to the New Review of Literature (USA) and Électron Libre (Morocco). He lives in Los Angeles and is a Professor in the Liberal Arts and Sciences Department and in the Graduate Writing program at Otis College of Art and Design. Philippe Beck, born on 21 April 1963 in Strasbourg, studied literature and philosophy at the University of Nantes. As a poet, he made his debut in 1996 at the age of thirty-two with the collection Garde-manche hypocrite (Hypocritical Oversleeve). In 2003, a thoroughly revised version of it appeared, with the title Garde-manche Deux (Oversleeve Two). During the seven years between the two versions, the author published no less than nine collections of poetry; since then, many more have appeared. If you add the extensive intellectual biography Beck l’impersonnage (Beck the Impersonality, 2006) to this list, you cannot avoid the feeling that—according to John Fenoghen (tr John Irons) that “you are dealing with a really single-minded person. The core of this single-mindedness is perhaps contained in the following statement: ‘You mustn’t simply say what is but what can be: re-read the past, re-world it, if you like.’” AT: Le Next 17 rue Tiquetonne, 75002 Paris (M° Etienne Marcel /RER Les Halles) Pour plus d'infos, voir http://ivywritersparis.blogspot.com

*19 January 1:00 P.M. Talk and reading by French poet Nicolas Pesquès de 13 h à 15 h « La poésie, pour quoi faire ? » à l’auditorium du Petit Palais, séminaire animé par l’universitaire Pierre Vilar AT: Petit Palais avenue Winston Churchill 75008 Paris, Métro: Champs-Élysées Clemenceau

20 January 7:00 P.M. Roll up! Roll up! In order to celebrate the second issue of Vestoj - the Journal of Sartorial Matters, themed around fashion and magic, we invite you to an evening of ‘Magic for Beginners’. We will treat you to music, magicians, tarot card readers, seances, ouija boards and all sorts of magical games that you may or may not remember from when you were still a kid. Come drink the elixir of youth with us and taste the confit that Nostradamus made for Catherine de Medici in the 16th Century. Listen to us reading about the mystical properties of dress, have your future divined and attempt to communicate with the spirits of comrades lost or found. We can’t wait to share some magic with you! AT: Shakespeare & Co., 37rue de la Bûcherie, Paris 5ème. M° St Michel

22 January 6:00 P.M. Guerres d'hier, guerres d'aujourd'hui: Théâtre et débat. En partenariat avec Le Monde Diplomatique À l'occasion de la présentation, au Théâtre Nanterre-Amandiers (7 janvier - 12 février) de la pièce Ithaque, de Botho Strauss, dans une mise en scène de Jean-Louis Martinelli. Rencontre animée par Pierre Conesa (Le Monde Diplomatique); avec Stéphanie Latte-Abdallah, chercheuse et enseignante à l'Université Aix-en-Provence (Histoire des conflits au Moyen-Orient); Arlette Farge, historienne du XVIIIe siècle, professeur émérite à l'École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales. Après vingt ans d'absence, Ulysse est de retour dans sa patrie. D'innombrables prétendants se sont installés dans le palais, courtisent sa femme Pénélope, dilapident ses biens et corrompent les moeurs, tandis que Télémaque, son fils, est devenu un homme. Une nouvelle traduction éclaire la transposition par Botho Strauss, l'un des plus grands dramaturges contemporains, de ce texte fondateur de la littérature qu'est l'Odyssée. AT: Goethe-Institut - 17 avenue d'Iéna, 75116 Paris Métro: Iéna

*24 Jan: 21h onwards to midnight! SPOKEN WORD invites you to come read YOUR work in ENGLISH, FRENCH, or any other language you would so like to share prose or poetry in! You are also invited to play a short musical piece or read a poem by an author you admire if you so wish! To keep up on all things Spoken Word, check out our blog & sign up for our announcements listing. Reading AT: Cabaret Populaire/Culture Rapide, 103 rue Julien Lacroix, 75020 Paris Metro Belleville. http://spokenwordparis.blogspot.com/

*26 January at probably 7pm: American poets Steve Dalachinsky & Matt Shipp read AT: the American University of Paris. Contact Dalachinsky for full info on skyplums@juno.com

*26 January 7:00 P.M. Rencontre avec LAURE CHARPENTIER à l’occasion de la réédition de son roman "Gigola" et de la sortie du film. Gigola est un roman qui,lors de sa parution en février 1972 aux éditions J.J. Pauvert, sembla tellement dérangeant et provoquant qu’il fut censuré pour ses scènes érotiques. Il fut enfin publié aux Editions Fayard en 2002 après 30 ans de censure ! Il raconte l’histoire en grande partie autobiographique de George, collégienne de 15 ans qui tombe amoureuse d’une de ses professeures avec laquelle elle aura une liaison. Après le suicide de cette dernière, George devient Gigola, dandy sans coeur, gigolo pour dames et souteneur à ses heures, dans le Pigalle interlope des années 60 où se côtoient prostituées, macs, voyous et homosexuels, le Paris nocturne de l’argent, de l’alcool et des cabarets. Laure Charpentier a réalisé elle-même le film tiré de son roman avec Lou Doillon dans le rôle principal (sortie nationale le 19 janvier). Elle le présente ainsi : "Ce film qui a pour titre Gigola , je le porte en moi depuis de longues années. L’histoire de George alias Gigola , c’est un peu mon histoire. Les personnages qui gravitent autour d’elle, je les ai tous connus. Cette époque des années 60 à Paris, au coeur de Pigalle, je l’ai pleinement, follement vécue." Ce film est pour elle "un hommage aux survivantes et nostalgiques de ces années-là" et à toutes celles qui ont fréquenté les cabarets féminins de l’époque : Chez Moune, Le Monocle. AT: Violette et Co, 102 rue de Charonne, 75011 Paris, M° Charonne ou Faidherbe-Chaligny.

*27 January at 7 pm: UPSTAIRS AT DUROC, the Paris literary journal, is pleased to announce the LAUNCH of its ISSUE 12. Come hear new work by AMY HOLLOWELL, NINA KARACOSTA, ALICE NOTLEY, JONATHAN REGIER and JOE ROSS. Bios: AMY HOLLOWELL is the author of Peneloping: Episodes in the Day of She and Giacomettrics, and is a contributor to numerous publications in Europe & the US. A former editor of the Paris-based review Pharos, she is a journalist, translator & Zen Buddhist teacher. NINA KARACOSTA’s work has appeared in Pomegranate Seeds: An Anthology of Greek-American Poetry, Best of Stain Anthology, Surreal-zine and The Melancholy Dane. An actor/poet born in Greece, she moved to NYC in 1995 & to Paris in 2009, which she now considers home. ALICE NOTLEY has published over 30 books of poetry, including most recently, Reason and Other Women; Grave of Light, New and Selected Poems 1970-2005; and In the Pines. With her sons, Anselm and Edmund Berrigan, Notley edited The Collected Poems of Ted Berrigan. She is also the author of a book of essays on poets and poetry, Coming After. Notley has received many prizes and awards including the Academy of American Poets’ Lenore Marshall Prize, the Poetry Society of America’s Shelley Award, two NEA Grants & the Los Angeles Times Book Award for Poetry. Often considered an important figure in the New York School, Notley lives and writes in Paris. JONATHAN REGIER’s first book of poetry, Three Years from Upstate, was published by Six Gallery Press (Pittsburgh, PA) in 2008. He’s now at work on a second book, as well as doing a PhD in the philosophy of science at Université Paris 7. JOE ROSS is the author of 12 books of poetry. In 1997, he received an NEA Fellowship and moved from Washington, DC to San Diego, where he worked for that city’s Commission for Arts and Culture and, later, as Chief of Policy for elected officials. He was awarded the Gertrude Stein Poetry Award in 2003. In 2004, he and his wife moved to Paris, where their 2 children were born, and where he continues to publish while working as an educator. AT: BERKELEY BOOKS OF PARIS, 8 rue Casimir Delavigne, 75006 Paris, Métro Odéon.

27 January 6:30 - 8:00 P.M. Lire plume à la main: vernissage. Admission free. Since the 19th century, readers have learned not to write on books. The development of the public library system, the practice of passing on school books from one pupil to another, as well as new rules of librarianship gradually eradicated the habit. Reading 'pen in hand' was, however, a common practice for readers at the time of the Ancien Régime. If some contented themselves with adding their signature or some words to the title page, others filled the margins with personal observations – called, literally, marginalia. The hundred or so annotated books in the Old Library of the Centre Culturel Irlandais provide a rich illustration of this practice. The exhibition showcases a fascinating selection of such documents.Exhibition curated by Emmanuelle Chapron who held an Old Library research bursary in 2009. AT: Centre Culturel Irlandais, 5 rue des Irlandais, 75005 Paris. RER: Luxembourg

27 January 6:30 - 8:00 P.M. Finola Graham & Pauline Turmel Cross-Currents vernissage. The works shown in this exhibition are the outcome of a joint project: an exchange between the artists Finola Graham and Pauline Turmel. They met thirty years ago when Finola was a student of Pauline’s father at Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Paris. They re-established contact when Pauline visited Ireland. These two artists, of different nationalities and generations, conceived the Cross-Currents project; two years of exchange of studio and life, with Pauline working in Ireland and Finola in Paris for prolonged periods. AT: Centre Culturel Irlandais, 5 rue des Irlandais, 75005 Paris. RER: Luxembourg

*27 January 7:00 P.M. Soirée autour de Hilde Domin : lecture, film, musique, discussion. En allemand et français. En coopération avec les éditions L'Oreille du Loup. Présentation du livre “Avec un si léger baggage” (Mit leichtem Gepäck), le premier de Hilde Domin traduit en français (éditions L'Oreille du Loup). Lecture bilingue par Cornelia Geiser, comédienne et Stéphane Chaumet, traducteur de l'ouvrage. Accompagnement musical : Jean-Renaud Lhotte (violoncelle), Emilie Pélissier (guitare), Laure Warney (flûte). Projection d'extraits du film Begegnungen mit Hilde Domin en début et fin de soirée. Hilde Domin, née en 1909 à Cologne, est morte en 2006 à Heidelberg. Étudiante en Italie, elle doit fuir les lois fascistes contre les Juifs et se rend d'abord à Paris, puis en Angleterre, avant de trouver refuge à Saint-Domingue. Elle ne reviendra en Allemagne qu'après vingt-deux ans d'exil. À 50 ans, elle prend le nom Domin en hommage à la république caribéenne, et publie son premier recueil de poèmes, qui sera suivi de nombreux ouvrages (poésie, roman, essais, lettres, journaux). Elle s'imposera comme une des voix les plus attachantes et les plus profondes de la poésie allemande d'après-guerre, aux côtés de Nelly Sachs et Rose Ausländer. AT: Goethe-Institut - 17 avenue d'Iéna, 75116 Paris Métro: Iéna

*27 January 7:00 P.M. John Lichfield, journalist for The Independent since 1986, will present and sign his book Our Man in Paris: A Foreign Correspondent, France and the French. About the Author: John Lichfield has been with The Independent since its launch in 1986. He was previously US correspondent and Foreign Editor. In 1999 he was named Foreign Reporter of the year in the UK Press Awards for his dispatches from France. He was born in Stoke on Trent in 1949 and educated in Macclesfield and Cambridge. He is married with three children. AT: WH Smith 248 Rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris. Métro: Concorde (reserve a place via email please)

*27 January 7:00 P.M.: FATIMA BHUTTO & Songs of Blood and Sword: A Daughter’s Memoir: To celebrate the publication in French by les Editions Buchet Chastel of Songs of Blood and Sword under the title Le Chant du sabre et du sang, The Village Voice Bookshop has the pleasure of inviting you to meet and hear Fatima Bhutto read from her memoir. In September 1996, a fourteen-year-old Fatima Bhutto hid in a windowless dressing room, shielding her baby brother while shots rang out in the streets outside the family home in Karachi. This was the evening that her father Murtaza was murdered, along with six of his associates. In December 2007, Benazir Bhutto, Fatima’s aunt, and the woman she had publicly accused of ordering her father’s murder, was assassinated in Rawalpindi. It was the latest in a long line of tragedies for one of the world’s best-known political dynasties. Songs of Blood and Sword tells the story of a family of rich feudal landlords who became powerbrokers in the newly created state of Pakistan. It is the history of a nation from Partition through the struggle with India over Kashmir, the Cold War, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan up to the post 9/11 War on Terror. It is also a book about a daughter’s love for her father and her search to uncover, and to understand, the truth of his life and death. It is above all a book of international significance by a young woman who has already established herself as a brave and passionate campaigner, her work having appeared in Granta, the Daily Beast and the Guardian. AT: Village Voice Bookshop 6, rue Princesse 75006 Métro: Mabillon

*30 January at 6pm: American poet Steve Dalachinsky, Japanese-American poet Yuko Otomo read with musical accompaniment: makoto sato - batterie & richard comte – guitar. AT: Bobine -Naxos 135 rue de la roquette paris 75011

*31 January 7:00 P.M. Join Amy Sackville, recent winner of the John Llewellyn Rhys prize, who will discuss and read from her poignant novel “The Still Point”. For novelists and novel fans, this is a reading not to miss! ‘If Virginia Woolf had had a younger sister with a passionate interest in icebergs, she might have written something like this beautiful, unearthly novel, in which the secrets of a house and of a marriage continually open out onto a wild glare of Arctic light.’ Francis Spufford. AT: Shakespeare & Co., 37rue de la Bûcherie, Paris 5ème. M° St Michel

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Part II) Creative Writing Workshops in PARIS


8 January: A partir de janvier, Violette and Co vous propose de participer à des ateliers d’écriture animés par CATHERINE BÉDARIDA, écrivain et journaliste (Le Monde, Mouvement) qui organise des ateliers d’écriture créative avec des institutions culturelles et associatives. Découvrez ou retrouvez le plaisir d’écrire ! L’atelier offre un lieu solidaire pour écrire en toute liberté quelque soit son expérience. En partant de thèmes variés et de pistes de réflexion en lien avec les questions de genre, de minorités sexuelles et adossés à l’expérience littéraire féministe, l’atelier permet d’explorer et d’inventer ses propres mots.Horaires : un samedi sur deux, de 11h à 13h, à partir du 8 janvier.Tarif : 20 € par atelier. Renseignements et inscriptions : catherine.bedarida@leboutdelalangue.com

WRITING CLASSES at WICE: In all cases for the courses below, you must become a member of WICE (which has tons of great benefits!) and sign up and pre-pay for courses. You must be a member of WICE to take these courses. Pre-registration required. We suggest you sign up early to be sure that the course does not get cancelled for underenrollment!: See more on WICE and creative writing at http://www.wice-paris.org/wice/creative-writing-and-literature

Date: Thursday, January 13, 20, 27; February 3, 10 Time: 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. THE ART OF FICTION: This very popular combination of workshop and fiction seminar continues to welcome beginning writers, professionals and many repeat participants! Start by reading excerpts from such notable authors as Anne Rice, Stig Larrson, Jonathan Franzen, among many others. Then, under their influence and inspiration, experiment with writing something similar yourself. This course is a must for readers and book-group lovers, too. Due to the workshop element, space is limited, so sign-up early. Instructor: Gretel Furner conducts the Migrant Soul Series at WICE and many other courses on literature and culture. She has a Ph.D. on the modern novel and for the past two years has led a popular, long-standing writing group, sharing with writers from around the world her knowledge on literary device and editing. Code: WJ131 Fee: 135€ Place: Maison Paroissiale, 13 place Etienne Pernet, 75015 Paris; Métro: Félix Faure; Bus: 70 or 88.

Date: Mondays, January 24, 31; February 7, 28; March 7, 14, 21, 28 Time: 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. SHORT STORY WRITING This eight-week course features readings of noteworthy short stories as well as follow-up exercises to get you started on writing your own. In later weeks, after the February school holidays, much of the class time will be spent sharing your work and challenges with the group. This is our longest running workshop in years, created specifically so that you have time to start, re-write and polish a finished story... maybe even two! Because of the comprehensive nature of this course, beginners are especially welcome. Instructor: David Barnes is a Paris based writer, teacher, and workshop facilitator. He won Shakespeare & Company's Travel in Words Competition in 2006 and is the dedicated host of the lively and much-talked-about Spoken Word Paris, held weekly at the Cabaret Pop in Belleville. Code: WJ241 Fee: 195€ Place: Maison Paroissiale, 13 place Etienne Pernet, 75015 Paris; Métro: Félix Faure; Bus: 70 or 88.

Date: Tuesdays, January 25; February 1, 8 Time: 2:30 – 4:30 p.m.WRITING TO TRAVEL This two-part course is for travelers who write or for writers who travel and would like to see their work in print. The emphasis will be more on the professional aspects of travel and memoir writing than on workshopping, although we will do some writing exercises. This is a place where you can ask practical questions and engage in discussions about publishing in these genres. It has been divided into two short sessions, but if you'll be in town, you'll want to take them both. Instructor: Christine Buckley is a well-traveled writer, journalist, speaker, co-author of Slave Hunter (Simon & Schuster 2009) and contributor to Best Women's Travel Writing 2010. She's regularly heard on Radio France International and is also an editor at France 24. In her increasingly limited free time, she plugs away at a memoir about her years in Vietnam. What's Your Style? In session one, we'll discuss how to get started, find focus, research markets and sell your own brand of travel writing—covering the gamut from destination-oriented service pieces to the personal essay. For inspiration, we'll read the work of other writers in travel and related genres and get into the nuts and bolts of writing an effective pitch letter. You must be a member of WICE to take this course. Pre-registration required. Code: WJ251 Fee: 95€ or 165€ for both courses. Place: Maison Paroissiale, 13 place Etienne Pernet, 75015 Paris; Métro: Félix Faure; Bus: 70 or 88.

Date: Wednesdays, January 26; February 9; March 2, 16 Time: 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. WORDS & IMAGES Good storytelling is born when the right words are matched with powerful images. This class will provide a review of basic tools for writing, research, and interviewing; discussion of well-written published pieces and effective photo essays; techniques for capturing powerful images; and proven editing techniques for polishing final pieces. Projects will include a travel article/blog-post/story, a personality profile, an ad or photograph(s) with integrated words, and a news story with images. We'll also discuss the best channels for publication of finished pieces and the best way to pitch yourself and your story to an editor. The class will meet every two weeks to ensure quality time for writing and revision of projects. Instructor: Meredith Mullins is an internationally exhibited photographer and popular photography instructor, a winner of the 2009 Grand Concours Photo sur Paris and 2010 PX3 Competition, and author of the award-winning book In a Paris Moment. You must be a member of WICE to take this course. Pre-registration required. Code: SJ261 Fee: 200€ Place: Artist's studio, 75004 Paris; Métro: Pont Marie, Hôtel de Ville Note: Address information provided after registration

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Part III) REVIEWS NEWS & NEW REVIEWS:


PARIS POET JEFFREY GREENE’s featured poem is a great way to ring in 2011: Jeffrey Greene’s little New Year poem! http://poems.com/feature.php?date=14976#journal

SEND PROSE, POETRY, & ART by JAN 15th to VERSAL JOURNAL. Versal, a literary magazine out of Amsterdam, is seeking prose, poetry, artwork! We're seeking work that is urgent, involved and unexpected. Submit online today at: http://www.wordsinhere.com/guidelines.html This magazine has been making waves and getting lots of attention this year and will be featured at AWP in Washington DC this spring—so don’t miss the once a year opportunity to try and get YOUR work into the magazine. Also, subscriptions are more than welcome! See the website for full details, and to submit your writing through the online submissions manager! (I, Jen dick, am one of the poetry editors and I can guarantee that we would be thrilled to see your work and to give it a read!) Also, if you want to keep up on all things VERSAL, see Versal Journal’s online blog at http://versaljournal.blogspot.com/


Read the new Chapbooksout now by Australian poet who visited and read in Paris last spring, Michael Farrell: thempark by Michael Farrell

DOUBLE CHANGE’S ONLINE ARCHIVES for your LISTENING PLEASURE: Double Change began a film archive of readings in Paris in 2004.As we celebrate our ten years as a reading series and online journal, we are pleased to announce the publication of the film and audio archives of some sixty French and American poets who read for Double Change between 2007 and 2010.These archives are now available at http://doublechange.org/archives/ as personal resources as well as for teaching purposes. Authors include: Alice Notley, Bernard Collin, Eleni Sikelianos, Laird Hunt, Elena Rivera, Vanessa Place, Claude Closky, Jena Osman, Rob Halpern, Caroline Bergvall, Anne Portugal, Jérôme Game, Christophe Marchand-Kiss, Susan Howe, Carla Harryman, Barrett Watten, Guy Lelong, Suzanne Doppelt, Peter Gizzi, Kenneth Goldsmith, J. H. Prynne, Pierre Alferi, Stephen Rodefer, Eric Suchère, Rosmarie Waldrop, Bénédicte Vilgrain, Frédéric Forte, Juliana Spahr, Francis Cohen, Anne Parian, Charles Bernstein, Emmanuelle Pireyre, Chris Edgar, David Antin, Lyn Hejinian, Dominique Fourcade, Ron Padgett, Bernard Noël, Elizabeth Willis, Pascal Poyet, Michael Heller, Christophe Lamiot Enos, Marie-Louise Chapelle, Michael Davidson, Jean-Marie Gleize, Stephen Ratcliffe, Ryoko Sekiguchi, Stacy Doris, Sabine Macher, Charles Alexander, Jean-Patrice Courtois, Pierre Joris, Andrew Zawacki, Eugene Ostashevsky, Sébastien Smirou, Jen Bervin, Jérôme Mauche, Anna Moschovakis. A double-box set of the film archives from the first three years of filming, 2004 through 2006, are available at the Presses du Réel. (Orders can be placed online. Free shipping worldwide over 69 €.) http://www.lespressesdureel.com/ouvrage.php?id=1210
or http://www.lespressesdureel.com/ouvrage.php?id=1209 For more on Double Change, or to check up on their forthcoming events, see: www.doublechange.org

NEW ONLINE MAGAZINE: to read & submit to-- Announcing a new monthly journal called "Evening Will Come." Dedicated to poetics, "Evening Will Come" will appear online, twelve times a year, on the first day of each month. The first issue features a new essay by C.D. Wright. http://www.eveningwillcome.com/ Future issues will include poetics pieces by Tyrone Williams, Nathanaël Stephens, and Sueyeun Juliette Lee, among others. Dan Beachy-Quick is at work on a poetics daybook for us, and Joshua Clover, Juliana Spahr, and Chris Nealon
are conducting a roundtable on poetry and the political.
Still other pieces and projects are in the works, and we are open to queries: eveningwillcome@gmail.com Our editorial board: Rosa Alcalá, Nathan Brown, Brian Foley, Tim Johnson, Dorothea Lasky, Sara Marshall, Summer Robinson, Evie Shockley, and Joshua Marie Wilkinson. We hope you'll enjoy this new endeavor. http://www.eveningwillcome.com/

CONTEST OPEN FOR POETRY BOOK SUBS: Begin the new year by entering the 2011 Sawtooth Poetry Prize contest! Via their new Submission Manager they’ll be using this year and from now on! CONTEST: January 1, 2011 through March 1, 2011, $1,500 for a book of poems. FinalJudge: Paul Hoover. The contest rules have changed a little as a result of the online submission format—take a look at them on Asahta’s home site http://ahsahtapress.boisestate.edu/index.htm To learn more about or support the press, read last year’s winner: 2010 Sawtooth Prize Winner: James Meetze, “Dayglomeetze.cov”.Terrance Hayes selected this collection of poems that are filled with light, from the sun of a perfect beach to the “icky cinematic / light” that pervades the mythic landscape of California. “Think of Thoreau inhabiting a city like San Diego, perhaps on a beach where ‘when brightness becomes your halo / it’s just sun / and nothing holy,’ and you will have a sense of the wonders of this collection. . . . Like the images of (sun)light and water that recur throughout Dayglo, James Meetze is a poet of irrepressible latitude and depth.” More about the book, including a sample poem, an extended bio of the author, and an author statement is available on Asahta’s site.

WHAT is COOL & COMING OUT OF EUROPE? Dusie Kollektiv! Based in Switzerland, Dusie Press run by Susanna Gardner has had a rich recent history of exciting innovation and has done a lot to encourage collaboration and co-production of small and larger works. Read the exciting new article on the Kollektiv’s current project in the Nov-Dec issue of Poets & Writers’ Magazine http://poetsandwriters.coverleaf.com/poetsandwriters/20101112?pg=72#pg72 If you do not know PW, see their homesite with hundreds of articles, grants, magazine and book publisher’s calls for work at http://www.pw.org/

NEW IN MAGAZINES: Dimitri Keramitis! Paris-based fiction and nonfiction writer Dimitri Keramitis’ story "The Grave Within" (a Henry Jamesian ghost story) was published by a UK fantasy mag called “Strange Circle”, (http://www.scribd.com/full/45680936?access_key=key-1gfsth1a3tz5c0rylyov) winning the "overall prize" of their story competition! Congrats to Dimitri! Readthe story, submit to the magazine or subscribe at their site: http://magazine.strangecircle.org.uk/

LAST CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS! Upstairs at Duroc, the literary journal published in Paris, France, seeks submissions for its Issue # 13. We publish English language poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction and translations. We welcome innovative or cross-genre forms, prose poems and flash fiction. Standalone excerpts from longer works will also be considered. Submit no more than 5 poems, or two prose pieces not exceeding 2000 words each. Include cover sheet with name, address, phone number, email address, word count for prose, and a short Bio. / We also seek artwork: photographs, drawings, etchings in black and white or color. Send in JPEG format. / Send snail mail submissions to the WICE office: WICE / Upstairs at Duroc, 7 Cité Falguière, 75015 Paris, France. Send email submissions to upstairsatduroc@wice-paris.org with “Upstairs at Duroc Submission” in the subject line. Copies of Upstairs at Duroc can be obtained at our readings or at the WICE office. / For complete guidelines and examples of published work, see our Web pages at www.wice-paris.org. We prefer email submissions. Deadline: January 31, 2011. See previous issues and read select excerpts at http://www.wice-paris.org/wice/issues-and-writing-samples

CONGRATS to novelist Barry Kirwan for his story “Writerholics Anonymous” publication on the Piker’s Press site. Free to all, and Barry (a Paris-based author whose first novel in a SciFy trilogy will be out this winter in ebook format—for all you Kendle and eReader users) would love your comments on the work! http://www.pikerpress.com/article.php?aID=4259

Author John Berendt, of the blockbuster best-seller Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1994) advises aspiring authors to :
"Keep a diary, but don't just list all the things you did during the day. Pick one incident and write it up as a brief vignette. Give it color, include quotes and dialogue, shape it like a story with a beginning, middle and end — as if it were a short story or an episode in a novel. It's great practice. Do this while figuring out what you want to write a book about. The book may even emerge from within this running diary."
(source: Garrison Keillor’s WRITERS ALMANAC, 5 Dec 2010. Receive the Writers Almanac daily by email, for free!: http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/ or make a donation to support Public Radio today!)