Tag Archives: Ms. Modigliani

Giving Thanks for Paris, Where a Life of the Mind Finds Life in the Streets

Let me give thanks again today to Ms. Modigliani. my first reader; to all of you who stroll the site, who are my kind of movement; and to Paris itself, its people and its streets, which have given me a freedom of place that cannot be extinguished by terror and hate. Continue reading






Posted in Paris | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Giving Thanks for Paris, Where a Life of the Mind Finds Life in the Streets

My Valentine for Ms. Modigliani

Velázquez. Venus at her Mirror. 1649-51; “Elegy To His Mistress Going To Bed” by John Donne | Listen to the poem as read by Jasper Britton (YouTube)






Continue reading






Posted in poetry | Tagged | Comments Off on My Valentine for Ms. Modigliani

Café Mouffe: Bernadette Peters Sings Sondheim

In a flight of fancy I suggested to Ms. M that, if our love could be translated into musical theater, Bernadette Peters could play her part. She was dubious, reluctant to accept any simulacrum. Not even for Broadway? So here are three clips to persuade her to change her mind. All are songs by Stephen Sondheim, recorded at Royal Festival Hall in London in 1998.






Continue reading






Posted in Café Mouffe | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Café Mouffe: Bernadette Peters Sings Sondheim

Café Mouffe: Marin Marais “Sonnerie de Sainte Geneviève du Mont-de-Paris”

Ms. M is touring Versailles today with her daughter. Here’s a soundtrack for her.I think of this composition by Marin Marais [1656-1728] whenever the Sun King comes to mind, though perhaps it is more suitable for walking about in our Ve neighborhood near the Pantheon and Rue Mouffetard, since it is dedicated to Sainte Geneviève du Mont-de-Paris. I believe it also was used in the soundtrack for the 1991 Canadian film Black Robe. This performance is by Jordi Savall.






Continue reading






Posted in Café Mouffe | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Café Mouffe: Marin Marais “Sonnerie de Sainte Geneviève du Mont-de-Paris”

Giving Thanks: One Reader Is A Miracle

All the talk about slow food and slow blogging reminds me of this story from the Left Bank. I published it first in September 2007, near the beginning of this blog. It remains one of the most satisfying pieces of new writing that I’ve done here. I was sad the day it dropped off the bottom of the home page, which held 20 posts then. Maybe no one would ever find or read the story again. So I re-posted it that Thanksgiving, and now I claim it as a family tradition. On this day meant to give thanks it gives me pleasure to read and publish it again to affirm how I am blessed that Ms. Modigliani is my first reader.






Continue reading






Posted in Bouquiniste | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments