Laurel Zuckerman's Paris Weblog

Flash: Creative Writing Workshop at The Open University in Paris Sept 12th

The Open University is running a Creative Writing workshop in Paris for complete beginners - Monday, 12^th September, 6-8pm.  For booking and further details contact David on [email protected].

Vichy France with Robert Paxton and Alan Riding, a literary evening in Paris

 

 A new literary scene is emerging at the Hotel La Perle on rue Canettes.

On July 27, La Perle held a fascinating evening on Vichy France, in partnership with Terrance Gelenter, the publisher of "Paris Through Expatriate Eyes".

Mary Duncan filed this report.

In exchange for 20 euros admission, La Perle hosted the speakers and guests in a tree lined atrium with a high, decorative glass ceiling. Odile Hellier of The Village Voice provided books and an attentive bartender poured wine. Approximately forty guests mingled, sat at small round tables, chatted with friends and nibbled on cheese, peanuts and sausage.

Terrance Gelenter introduced Robert Paxton, author of Vichy France 1940 -1944 (Columbia University Press 1973), and Alan Riding , author of And the Show Went On: Cultural Life in Nazi-Occupied Paris (Knopf 2010). Acclaimed experts on the Occupation and its affect on the people and institutions of France during and after World War II, they discussed.their research methods and the results of their work.

Paxton relied on diplomatic dispatches and letters sent between embassies before, during and after the war. He found great disparities in the before and after descriptions of what had transpired in France. Once the war turned in favor of the allies, many Vichy officials and others who had supported the Nazis, began changing documents and letters. But, Paxton said, they could not alter the diplomatic dispatches which were sitting in the US and German archives. These became the basis for his book, which shook the French establishment and challenged the prevailing views of how France responded to the German invasion.

Riding said he partially relied on interviews with over thirty elderly French people who survived the war. Most were over ninety-years old. Riding also read numerous clandestine Resistance newspapers such as "Les Lettres Française", which was published by Jean Paulhan, a Gallimard editor. Riding, who focused on cultural life during the Occupation, discussed writers such as Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir. Basically, Riding said, most writers wanted to write and be published. Gallimard and other publishers accommodated them. This fit well with Germany’s policy of maintaining "life as normal" in France. Hitler wanted the French to be distracted so as not to deter his primary goal which was to invade England.

Hitler's goal was what determined how France was geographically divided between Occupied France and Vichy France. To gain military advantage over England, Hitler kept control of the French coastline and the northern part of the country. He didn't want to be burdened with governing all of France and left that to the Vichy administrators. It was Vichy who instituted the anti-Jewish laws. Though the theaters, orchestras and literary salons continued throughout the war, there was a conspicuous absence of Jewish musicians, writers and artists. Many had fled to the countryside, the south, left the country or changed their names. Others died in the concentration camps.

After Hitler invaded Russia, most of France's industrial and agricultural output was used to support Germany's war effort. This was why France wasn't decimated like Poland. Germany needed France's resources. As the war was ending, there was a race to see who would control the French government. The US had established interim administrators in Italy and tried to do the same in France. Charles de Gaulle headed off the Americans by appointing French officials who were loyal to him. As soon as a town was liberated, de Gaulle sent in someone to run the town.

Were there any positive results following the war?Yes, Riding and Paxton agreed, France increased its birthrate.

Following Paxton and Riding's talk, the alert audience asked questions for over thirty minutes. Sitting at tables with friends, the wine and food added to the evening's casual ambiance.

While most guests were young at heart, it was definitely a group "of a certain age." The admission fee may have deterred a younger crowd. I enjoyed the event and felt it was worth the admission fee. I had already heard Riding discuss his excellent book at other events. Meeting the distinguished Robert Paxton was an honor.

          - Mary Duncan

Mary Duncan is author of Henry Miller is Under My Bed: People and Places on the Way to Paris, soon to be released in a new edition (see review in San Diego Magazine and interview). She is working on a new book, subtitled "Love, Lust, Literature and Death on a Paris Street," which deals with Vichy France and the Occupation. Mary also coordinates The Paris Writers Group which she founded in 2008.

Paris Writers News Interviews Paris Travel Blogger Richard Nahem, author of Eye Prefer Paris

Author on Authors :

Richard Nahem, author of Eye Prefer Paris,

talks with

Laurel Zuckerman, Editor of Paris Writers News

 

Richard Nahem's highly successful Paris blog, Eye Prefer Paris, is embarking on its sixth year. Looking back, Richard talks with Paris Writers News about finding a voice, building a readership, and integrating blogging with his other activity, Paris tours. Looking forward, he shares his insights into changes in the travel writing profession, and the keys to good blogs.

___

Laurel Zuckerman: Richard, your blog Eye Prefer Paris, just celebrated its fifth year. Congratulations! What gave you the idea originally?

Richard Nahem: Thank you. I moved here in 2005 and was looking to do something new with my life. It was the beginning of the blogging boom and I thought I would get in on the ground floor with  the idea of an insiders guide to Paris from an ex-New Yorker’s viewpoint.

LZ: How did Eye Prefer Paris evolve?

RN: I found my voice rather quickly and in the beginning I just did two posts a week. I later started reading a lot about successful blogs and how blogs can make money plus bring other opportunities. I switched to four times a week to become more substantial and to position myself better.

 


LZ: You have thousands of faithful readers and subscribers. How do you build a faithful readership?

RN: I think that with almost all good blogs, interesting content is key plus with mine the photos play an important role in my success. Also, if you are consistent and post regularly readers know what to expect. My readers know they are getting a little piece of Paris in their email Monday through Thursday. Whenever I meet people or have new tour clients I ask if I could subscribe them. I must have personally subscribed hundreds of people

LZ: Favorite recurrent features of Eye Prefer Paris include door of the month, photo by Meredith Mullens and lunches with Lynn—all very different. How were they conceived?

RN: Most of them were organic or just on a whim. I had a feature called Metro station of the month and after a year or so I was running out of interesting metro stations to write about. I was walking in the 6^th arr. One day and started taking photos of doors and voila! The Door of the Month was born. Parisian of the Month & Dessert of the Month were suggested by two of my readers. I met Meredith at a wine shop one day and liked her photos & suggested she do a monthly feature.

LZ: How do you work with guest bloggers? What do they bring to the blog?

RN: I think guest bloggers bring a fresh voice and readers appreciate that. Sometimes I have themes and people will write around them. Otherwise I just give them freedom to write what hey want as long as it’s something to do with Paris or France and has a certain amount of words.

 
 
LZ: Your writing has appeared in many other publications. Is it hard to switch from one style of writing to another?

RN: I regularly write for www.julib.com, a fashion and trend site, and a monthly Paris column on http://www.travelagentcentral.com/blogs, a luxury travel agent blog. I have also written for a luxury gay travel magazine Passport and an article for The Guardian in London. Actually it’s fun switching writing styles and third person can be a relief from writing “I” all the time. It’s also a great exercise in writing; it really expands and strengthens your writing. It also puts your brain on a different setting.

LZ: What makes for good blog writing?

RN: Concise, down to earth from the heart writing. Also a personal and strong viewpoint. being personal without being too personal. No one needs to know your personal hygiene habits or why you broke up with your boyfriend.

LZ: You offer tours of Paris, especially the Marais which is your home. A business question—how do the blog and the touring business complement each other? Is each independent or do they work together?

RN:  They complement each other perfectly and work off one another. I started the blog first and the tours six months later. The tours are an extension of the blog and I tell clients that many of the places I write about on the blog will be on the tours. The blog inadvertently became a marketing tool for the tours. I make Paris so irresistible to my readers that they eventually have to come to Paris and book a tour. But it’s not why I write the blog, but it’s an extra bonus when someone books a tour because they found my blog.

 

LZ: Travel writing has changed dramatically in the past few years. What do you see as the biggest changes?

RN: Online publications and online content for magazines has made the biggest difference. Most travel magazines are much more targeted now and also articles are getting shorter. Also the pay is a lot less now and many online publications don’t compensate that well. Magazines are competing with so much more free content online from blogs and other sites. It is mind-boggling how many travel sites and blogs there are.

LZ: What advice would you give to a young writer—especially a travel writer—starting out today?

RN: Start a blog, it’s the best way to build your writing and write consistently. A good blog is a great calling card/resume builder.

LZ: Of all the pieces you’ve ever written, which one makes you proudest?

RN: Besides the five years of my blog, I have to say the Guardian piece, which not so much for the content but the honor of being in such a publication and also my first 3000 word article “10 Ways to Say I Love You in Paris” for Passport magazine. It was exciting seeing a 6-page article with my name in big letters.

 

LZ: When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

RN: I never planned on being a writer. In fact I barely ever wrote anything before I started my blog. After I started my blog, some publications asked me to write articles for them and that’s how I started.

LZ: Is there any other profession you’ve always dreamed about?

RN: I always wanted to be a travel photographer and I am now partly fulfilling that dream with the photos I take for my blog. I eventually want to have my photos in other outlets like magazines books, etc.  and travel the rest of the world and take photos.

LZ: How (and this is an important question given the sedentary nature of writing) do you stay in shape?

RN: I do yoga, go to the gym, and walk a lot on my tours.

LZ: Why Paris?

RN: Because “eye “ prefer it.

LZ: What are you working on now?

RN: I am writing an article for Passport for the September issue about made to measure clothing and accessories in Paris. I am also working on some book ideas based on certain features on my blog.

 ___

 
Richard Nahem is an ex-New Yorker living in Paris for 6 years. He writes a popular blog Eye Prefer Paris  (www.eyepreferparis.com) and also leads  private walking tours  (www.eyepreferparistours.com) - showing clients the off-beat, insiders Paris they never usually see on their own. You can follow Richard on Twitter at:  http://www.Twitter.com/eyepreferparis 

 

Laurel Zuckerman is the author of Sorbonne Confidential, based on her surreal experiences as an aspiring ESL teacher in France, and the editor of Paris Writers News. You can follow Laurel on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/LaurelZuckerman