Of all the French poets I’ve studied, Jacques Prévert would be at the top of the pile. He’s melancholy and romantic without being obtuse, which is why many of his poems are turned into songs, like “Autumn Leaves” (which I can almost play on the piano). There is a an exhibit going on at the Hotel de Ville (when did they get so good at this? We also loved their Willy Ronis show a few years ago.) Go on a weekday during work hours or I’m sure you’ll never get in. Pick up a copy of his biggest seller,
Paroles, if you can. Even for an intermediate French speaker, you’re sure to enjoy it.

As part of Prévert trivia, I also learned that he lived near our apartment on the rue de Vaugirard and studied at the Catholic school on the rue d’Assas (directly in front of our apartment) when his family moved back to Paris 1907.

Here’s all the essential information for the exhibition “Jacques Prevert, Paris la belle”

When: 2′th October 2008 to 28th Fébruary 2009
Where: Hôtel de Ville, Salle Saint-Jean, 5 rue Lobau, 75004 Paris. Métro Hôtel de Ville (lines 4 & 11)
Opening hours: open every day except Sundays and public holidays from 10am to 7pm (last ticket at 6.15pm)
Admission: adults 0 euros, kids 0 euros, students 0 euros, goldfish 0 euros. Yep, free for everyone!

[From "Jacques Prevert, Paris la belle," an exhibition at Hôtel de Ville - Hotels Paris Rive Gauche]

I have to say I don’t really resonate with the idea of being a “Francophile,” though most of my life I have loved spending time in France, learning the language, and eating the same twenty meals over and over. Francophile sounds like a dilettante in things French, like someone who likes provencal fabrics or who prefers a glass of Sancerre to Chardonnay.

If you love French, and not just the kiss, check out The Story of French , by the authors of Sixty Million Frenchman can’t be Wrong. The Story of French is a fun read and will legitimize all the reasons you love French, despite the attacks on la langue française from all around you. It takes you back in history on how French was formed as a language, up until its continued force in the world today, despite the falling fortunes of its motherland.

But if you really want to learn what the hip kids are saying in streets of old Paree, you have to pick up Street French1 and Street French 2. These books will take you through Verlan, the French equivalent to pig latin and many many words, both vulgar and common that they don’t teach you in 11th grade.

Since I read these, they’ve also come up with Street French 3: The Best of Naughty French which appears to have all the juicy bits not included in books 1 and 2. Bon appétit!

I searched and searched for travel books to excite a two year old kid as well as inform me as to what are best things to do when we traveled. I found these, written by Sasek in 1959! With a minimum of words and a maximum of illustrations, ‘This is Paris’ captures the magic of mankind’s capital city. ‘This is Paris’ is a delightful tour of 1950s Paris from a child’s eye view. Sasek had written ‘This is Rome’ and ‘This is London,’ in 1959, but where the heck was ‘This is Tokyo,’ and ‘This is Seoul,’ for the kid of the 21st century?!@* So this is what I’m setting out to do, in 21st century format, in blogs.

“This is Paris (This is . . .)” (Miroslav Sasek)

“This is Rome (This is . . .)” (Miroslav Sasek)

“This is London (This is . . .)” (Miroslav Sasek)

Well, what do you know? As I’m searching for the links, I’m founding out that during the past couple of years, the publishers of Sasek book has figured out the same thing that I have, and have extended the series, using new editors, to create books for other cities, around the world. In fact, there is now, ‘This is Hong Kong!’ and Texas, for goodness sakes! As Paul always says, we’re always about two weeks ahead of the latest trend insight from NY Times!

“This is Hong Kong (This is . . .)” (Miroslav Sasek)

“This Is Edinburgh (This is . . .)” (Miroslav Sasek)

“This is New York (This is . . .)” (Miroslav Sasek)

“This is San Francisco (This is . . .)” (Miroslav Sasek)

“This Is Ireland” (M. Sasek)

“This Is Texas (This is . . .)” (Miroslav Sasek)