Possible Paris Futures

The sun hasn’t stopped shining for two weeks. Every day is more glorious than the next and we’re all getting terribly spoiled by it. One day it’s going to rain on our parade — it’s a ‘possible future’ that may be more ‘probable,’ but we’ll have nothing to complain about.

The Champ de Mars was awash with picknickers Saturday afternoon under the shade of “La Grande Dame,” looming high into the blue, blue sky. Our own ‘picnic’ of gourmet goodies and cool rosé wine took place in possibly THE most elegant apartment that looks onto the tower’s western profile — a two-bedroom ‘pied-à-terre’ owned by literary agent Kimberly Cameron and her husband, David Brody, designed and decorated by Jean-Louis Deniot, a 33 year-old French rising star in the interior design arena, whose ‘possible futures’ may already be pre-determined. “Quel picnic!”

Over lunch we laughed out loud as I read aloud excerpts from “The Bright Side,” a book for kids about ‘surviving your parents’ divorce, written by Kimberly’s son, Max Sindell…at the ripe old age of 17. About to turn 23 years-old at the end of the month, there’s no doubt he has a world of ‘possible futures’ before him.

My daughter realized “au dernier moment” that it was Mother’s Day American style yesterday and popped in carrying a big bouquet of “Fleur de Lys” — large pink aromatic lilies whose sweet scent fill the apartment. Lucky mothers get another chance to celebrate in France two weeks from now on the 25th of May, a tradition inaugurated by Napoleon and made official in 1950. One Web site suggests writing a poem for your mother to honor her.

That shouldn’t be too difficult. A dozen-plus poets have descended on Paris to take part in the annual Paris Poetry Workshop led by international poet Cecilia Woloch. It’s the 7th workshop by Woloch in Paris and I can proudly say (as I polish my fingernails on my shoulder) that it was an idea I had in February 2002 and launched together with her in the Spring of 2003.

At their Potluck Poetry Dinner last night, chatting with ‘the poets’ about all of our ‘possible futures,’ we all agreed it was a good title for a

poem. I’ve ‘stolen’ it as today’s ‘theme song,’ and funny how this was coincidentally the theme of the one poem I’ve ever written in my life. Before meeting Cecilia Woloch, I had never been exposed to poetry before, nor written it…but this one poured out in a moment, with no thought or intention. Now I’m hooked, like an addict on a drug.

Everyone, even those of you who don’t think poetry is one of your ‘possible futures,’ is welcome to come hear her read from her new book, “Narcissus” along with a few other of Paris’ finest poets — Cole Swensen, Jeffrey Greene and Ellen Hinsey, tonight at The Highlander (8 rue Nevers, 6th), 7:30 p.m. And if that’s not enough, scroll down for the listing of the poetry events this week that can become a part of your ‘possible futures.’

If you’re a Poet and don’t know it, then Perhaps you will add Photography to your alliterative list of Possibilities. Don’t miss the exhibition at the Bibliothèque Historique de la Ville de Paris, 22, rue Malher, 4th, on now through July 1st, 2008 of André Zucca’s 270 color photographs of Paris taken during the German Occupation years. It’s been extremely controversial because they are the only color images taken by a French photographer used as propaganda to show prosperous, happy Parisians under Third Reich rule. We’re sure behind the subjects’ smiling faces, they were thinking about their ‘possible futures,’ too.

This museum is NOT one of those which will be open this coming Saturday night, May 17th, during “La Nuit des Musées” — a city-wide event when nine of the 14 city museums open their doors to the public free of charge beginning at 6 p.m. ending at midnight. Expect the museums to be crowded, but it’s a night on the town not to miss — one of our ‘possible futures’ thanks to Mayor Bertrand Delanoë. See http://www.musees.paris.fr for the list of museums and details.

And on the same theme, mark your calendar for Meredith Mullins exhibition of photographs, “En Dehors du Temps” (“Outside of Time”), a collection of images is about the energy, movement, and expansion of time that happens between the ticks of the clock —- “a freedom that goes beyond time,” opening Thursday, June 5th, at W Finance, Square d’Orléans (a former home of George Sand), 80, rue Taitbout, 9th. Visit http://www.meredithmullins.artspan.com for more information.

And if you’re dreaming of your possible Paris futures, like my friend and author, Maxine Schur (“Places in Time“), does every time she lands on Paris’ doorstep, as she is now, wanting to own her own pied-à-terre, but afraid to take the proverbial leap like most, then don’t “wait for the future to become the moment” (a line from my poem)…

A la prochaine…

Adrian Leeds
Editor, Parler Paris