Sir Francis Drake: Pirate, Explorer, Human Rights Pioneer
by Jennifer Ciotta Most pirates, evil by nature, swashbuckling creatures who roamed the Earth’s seas, have seldom been portrayed correctly in literature and film. Often…
Category: Articles
An Unconventional Journey to the Library of Congress
by Alice Leccese Powers For the last dozen years I have edited a literary travel series. My books collect the impressions, in both fiction and…
Alan Lightman Interview, Part 2
by Alex Burack I have found that getting stuck is a very important part of the creative process. That when you’re stuck, your subconscious mind…
Alan Lightman Interview
by Alex Burack I don’t automatically start on a new book as soon as I’ve finished the previous one. There are some writers who can…
The Opera Garnier: An Eerie Tour of Leroux’s The Phantom of the Opera
by Kathryn Yelinek Like any good mystery writer, Gaston Leroux builds his novels in layers. On one layer, his The Phantom of the Opera is…
Back to Balzac
by P.B. LeCron Most sightseers who venture into Paris’ chic, residential Passy neighborhood go there to admire the quarter’s lavish Art Nouveau buildings that have…
Sylvia Beach’s Shakespeare & Company, A Mecca for Contemporary Literature
by Virginie Raguenaud When the French bookshop La Maison des Amis des Livres opened its doors on November 15, 1915, at 7 rue de l’Odeon…
Understanding Joie de Vivre, Touring the French Institute Alliance Francaise
by Jennifer Ciotta Unfortunately, I could not travel to France this spring so I decided to bring the country to me in New York City. I discovered that the…
Gertrude Stein, Hostess of the Parisian Literary Salon
by Lauren Owen In 1874 the ground was fertile for Gertrude Stein to become a woman of virile thoughts even in her youth. After having…
Shadows of The Da Vinci Code in Southern France
by Ken Harbinson As it happened, my wife was reading The Da Vinci Code as I was simultaneously absorbed in travel guides for our trip…