Populated by distant and little-known figures—Irish and French monks, saints, and scientists in Winter Mythologies; Benedictine monks in the Vendée region of France in Abbots—the tales frequently draw on obscure histories and other literary sources.Michon brings his characters to life in spare, evocative prose. Each, in his or her own way, exemplifies a power of belief that brings about an achievement—or catastrophe—in the real world: monasteries are built upon impossibly muddy wastes, monks acquire the power of speech, lives are taken, books are written, saints are created on the flimsiest of evidence. Michon’s exploration in ancient archives has led him to the discovery of such often deluded figures and their deeds, and his own exceptional powers bestow upon them a renewed life on the written page. This in turn is an example of the power of belief, which for Michon is what makes literature itself possible. Winter Mythologies and Abbots are meant to be read slowly, to be savored, to be mined for the secrets Michon has to tell.

    . . Today I’m really gonna be a tough guy.” Growing up in a poor village in northern France, all Eddy Bellegueule wanted was to be a man in the eyes of his family and neighbors. But from childhood, he was different—“girlish,” intellectually precocious, and attracted to other men.Already translated into twenty languages, The End of Eddy captures the violence and desperation of life in a French factory town. It is also a sensitive, universal portrait of boyhood and sexual awakening. Like Karl Ove Knausgaard or Edmund White, Édouard Louis writes from his own undisguised experience, but he writes with an openness and a compassionate intelligence that are all his own. The result—a critical and popular triumph—has made him the most celebrated French writer of his generation.

    Through the violence of the Revolutions the reign of the Bourbon monarchy came to an end and modern France was born.French Revolutions For Beginners examines the several bloody revolutions and counter-revolutions throughout the course of the 19th century and the constant upheavals and disruptions in France's ever changing political landscape from 1789-1900. While most people have some familiarity with names like Louis XVI and Napoleon, the details of what exactly happened during the French Revolution--apart from pithy royal pronouncements about cake eating and the ever-falling blade of the guillotine--are often difficult to understand, and for good reason: there were 15 changes of government in less than a century! The legacy of the French Revolutions remains with us today; we see it all over the world when an oppressed people rise up against an authoritarian regime demanding their rights as citizens be recognized.French Revolutions For Beginners presents the major political figures, events and hot-button political issues of this extremely violent, chaotic, confusing--but exciting--period in a way that is accessible, interesting, and fun to both history buffs and the neophyte alike.

    The daughter of an illiterate rope maker in Lyon, known to her contemporaries for her unusual learning as well as her skills as a singer and lutanist, Labé was in her thirties when she published her complete Works in 1555 and then disappeared from the scene, not to be rediscovered until the nineteenth century. Her love poetry, made famous by Rilke’s German versions, is published here with the originals en face and newly rendered into English by award-winning translator Richard Sieburth, who also includes a biographical chronology of the poet, notes, and an informative afterword to this edition. These Love Sonnets and Elegies confirm Labé’s reputation as the first modern Sappho.

    Andthroughout her too-short lifetime, she recorded her innermost thoughts andimpressions with intensely personal poems.The daughter of a French physician, Lucienne Hollard McKay's poetry reflectsmany of her thoughts, her moods, her intimations. In them one finds pain aswell as gaiety; and fantasy, delight, and ecstasy.Tremendously personal, the poems are set down in the author's native Frenchand were never intended for publication.To honor Lucienne's memory after her passing, her husband selected more thanfifty of these poems to share with the world. They appear herein, filledwith all the nuances and delicate iridescence of their original expression.Translated with dedicated friendship by Lilian Polk, the English poemsappear side-by-side, next to the romantic language in which they werecreated.In these poems, daydreams commingle with reality, life and death areinterwoven, and always there is an ethereal beauty-even in the midst oftragedy.Lucienne Hollard knew the mighty and the lowly, enjoyed the society of thefamous, and worked closely with the nameless ones of the French Undergroundduring World War II. Everywhere her life took her, she remained a dauntlessspirit with an unbounded verve for whatever life brought. No other memorialcould conceivably preserve, as if still alive, the exquisite personality ofits author.

    During the four years of Occupation she transformed from a teenager in search of fun and frivolity into a capable, fearless young woman, risking her life in service to her country and the Resistance. Always modest about her actions during the war, Andrée has been decorated by the French government for her bravery. Now her moving and courageous story is brought vividly to life, told for the first time by her own daughter.After the German invasion of Paris in June 1940, nineteen-year-old Andrée Griotteray found herself living in an occupied city, forced to work alongside the invaders. Unable to stand by and do nothing, her younger brother Alain set up his own resistance network to do whatever he could to defy the Nazis. Andrée risked her life to help him without hesitation.While working at the Police Headquarters in Paris, she printed and distributed copies of an underground news sheet and stole blank ID cards that were passed on to men and women attempting to escape France. She travelled across France, picking up and dropping off intelligence ultimately destined for the British and Americans, always fearless in the face of immense pressure. And then, one day, she was betrayed and arrested.Based on Andrée's diaries from the time and conversations over the years, Francelle Bradford White recounts her mother's incredible story: the narrow escapes and moments of terror alongside a typical teenager's concerns about food, fashion and boys.This fascinating story tells of one woman's struggle and of the bravery that ultimately led to her being awarded the Médaille de la Résistance, the Croix de guerre and the Légion d'honneur.For more information, visit www.andreeswar.com"An interesting book... touching in its juxtaposition of war news with a young woman's preoccupation with clothes, boyfriends and, as the war went on, the search for food." -- Barbara Dryden, blogger

    Much of the material presented here was translated specifically for this book, and offers up a lost thread from the fabric of history, one we find particularly vibrant. The editors do not presume to provide a monolithic, complete, or definitive story about French anarchist individualism, nor do we propose answers, conclusions, or closure on any of the ideas presented. We sought out the writings of many of the major figures of the milieu, chose those that most compelled us, and collected them here. So, a few important people have been left out. Rirette Maitrejean makes no appearance for example (she took over publication of L'Anarchie after Libertad's death and merits our attention).We have set out to do a number of things in publishing this material. First, to provide insight on the lives of forgotten anarchists through their own writings. Far too little is known about many of the authors herein, despite the strength of their ideas, their prolific publishing accomplishments, and the mutual interest they share with many anarchists today (i.e., a strong affinity to the ideas of Max Stirner, a deep disdain for the Left, constantly developing theories on anarchist association, and an unflinching critique of authority paired with the insistence that putting an end to an old one should never mean submission to a new one). Though they played an early and prominent role in developing and propagating anarchist thought and action, their lives and writings have gone unknown or under-acknowledged for too long. Many of them led vibrant and inspiring lives as illegalists, propagandists, deserters, travelers and staunch individualists.

    This inviting volume sets out to remedy the oversight, introducing a selection of du Bouchet’s poetry and prose to English-language readers through the brilliant translations of Paul Auster and Hoyt Rogers. Openwork showcases pieces from the author’s entire trajectory, beginning with little-known pieces from the 1950s, followed by major poems from the 1960s, and concluding with works written or rewritten in the poet’s later decades.   Throughout his life, du Bouchet devoted himself to long walks in his beloved French countryside, jotting down entries in notebooks as he rambled. These notebooks—more than one hundred all together—have emerged as signal works in their own right, and their musings are well represented in this anthology.

    His two dozen published poetry books went on to influence the Cubists and the Surrealists (playing a part in both groups formation) and his work continued to be viewed, admired and read by poets in Europe and America. Much of his work is still in print today and he is studied and written about as much today as he was some thirty years ago. Small anthologies of his work continue to appear in many languages. This volume is a fairly comprehensive survey of both the verse poems and the prose poems, in a bilingual format, and with prefaces and notes by the editor Mary Ann Caws and Patricia Terry. The Surrealists praised Reverdy as "the greatest living poet" at the time and many modern poets have continued to echo that praise. Reverdy moved to Paris at a young age and continued living there until his death in 1960.