Author Hazel Rowley, In Loving Memory
Photo Taken January 13, 2006, The Village Voice, Paris
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Wednesday, March 2, 2011 • Paris, France
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Dear Parler Paris Reader,
Thousands of writers have written about Paris...perhaps even hundreds of thousands of writers. Some of their words never get read. Others have been read by many. Those authors who have been 'so lucky' as to have been enjoyed by many are few.
Correction: luck hasn't had so much to do with it, but the quality of their craft and their profound insight played the most important role in their success in being published, read by many and enjoyed.
Over the years I've had the best fortune of all – to get to know some of those whose words about Paris (and other such illustrious topics) have made an impact on us. One of them was Hazel Rowley.
Hazel's name was on our lips over dinner Saturday night – Kathleen Spivack's and mine. Kathleen is another one of those writers whose words have been so powerful as to win numerous awards and teach others how to master the craft as well as she. We spoke with admiration and adoration of our friend, Hazel, who wrote such books as “Tete-a-Tete: Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre,” "Richard Wright: The Life and Times" and her most recent book, “Franklin and Eleanor: An Extraordinary Marriage.”
Little did we know at that very moment, Hazel was struck by a lightning stroke, so powerful as to render her catatonic, lying peacefully in a New York hospital for a few short days until she died last night.
Yesterday, her sister, Della, wrote of her, “She is sleeping and non-responsive apart from breathing. She looks peaceful. I combed her gorgeous hair and spoke to her and held her hand but there was no response at all.” Today Della wrote, "It is my very sad task to inform you all of Hazel's death tonight (1 March 2011) at 8:15 p.m. at Saint Lukes Roosevelt hospital in New York. She died peacefully and without any pain at all. In fact she looked as beautiful as ever."
Today's newsletter is a tribute to Hazel and to all the writers whose words about Paris have been inspirational. For all of you here in Paris who would like to pay homage to Hazel Rowley, we will be taking a few moments to honor her at Parler Paris Après Midi on Tuesday, March 8th when Author, poet and Pulitzer prize nominee, Kathleen Spivack, speaks about "How to Write Well and Get Published." For those of you in New York and environs, a memorial service will be held at the "little church around the corner" at 1 East 29th Street (off 5th Avenue) Saturday, March 12th (time TBA).
Paris-based author, David Downie, is another of note whose person and work I have come to know. He is the author of "Food Wine Burgundy," "Paris City of Night" and his newest updated version of his book "Paris, Paris: Journey into the City of Light" is soon to be released. It opens with a view on the River Seine: "No single element of Paris evokes the city's ambiguous allure more poignantly than the Seine." And he asks himself "what Paris would be like without the Seine. The answer is simple: it wouldn't." "Paris, Paris: Journey into the City of Light" is a must read, for it's brilliant historical insight as well as its romantic prose.
For those of you who want to learn more for our resident expert on the City of Light and City of Night, David will be speaking at Après Midi on June 8th about "Paris and the Nostalgia Business: Merging Past and Present in the City of Light." Visitparlerparis/apresmidi for more information.
Kathleen Spivack wrote of Jeanne Simonoff's latest work, "Saving Myself," that her "beautifully written memoir explores what it means to be human, to overcome hardship and loss, and to come into one's own. It's full of life, and we are with her all the way. The book is a complete delight; poignant, charming, brimming over with observation, vitality, and the will to survive." A regular visitor to Paris, Jeanne's book is dedicated "to all my mothers" -- but perhaps she should have said instead, "to all my Jewish mothers." Some of us can seriously relate...some of hers (mothers) even have the same names as some of mine!
For those of you who may also have Jewish mothers, Judi Olga Cahorn's recent book, "The Incredible Walk: The True Story of My Parents' Escape from Nazi-Occupied France" with Joanne S. Silver (Editor) and Jean-Pierre Cahorn (Illustrator), will touch your heart. It is a publication of Beach Lloyd Publishers, a publishing company named for the founder's father, a Navy medic who survived the landing at Omaha Beach in Normandy on June 6, 1944. The company's mission is to "recognize the strong idealogical ties that bind France and the United States, and to show that freedom is a universal right." Other books published by Beach Lloyd include: "Girl in the Belgian Resistance: A Wakeful Eye in the Underground," "Memoirs from Normandy: Childhood, War and Life's Adventures" and "My Normandy: A Teenager Lives through World War II."
These are just a few of thousands of books which have been written about Paris or inspired by Paris and France...perhaps even hundreds of thousands of books. Some of their words never get read. These are the authors who have been 'so lucky' as to be enjoyed by all of us.
To get your copies of these and more, visit Parler Paris Recommended Reading to discover our entire recommended reading list.
A la prochaine...
Adrian Leeds
Editor, Parler Paris
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P.S. Improve your writing skills! Visit frenchpropertyconference.com to learn more about James Navés'and Carol Thompson's "Innovative Pathway’s Spring Creativity Retreat" by The Clown’s Way and The Artist’s Way, April, 1-4, 2011 in La Bouvetière in Normandy, France and Janet Hultrand's "Writing from the Heart...a journey into the heart of France, and into your own heart" April 5-11, 2011 in Essoyes, Champagne.
