A VIDEO REPORT BY BILL DIEM
In a Culture Keeper first, at least in recent memory, we bring you a recipe! In a video report narrated in French (never fear, non-French speaker, we’ve included some English text for you), Bill Diem takes us from the market to the kitchen to a dinner table surrounded by friends ready to enjoy the evening’s star dish. Along the way he sheds some light on the history of this representative of France’s reputed culinary traditions.
COLLABORATION BY KAMI L. RICE, OLIVIER PEYROUS, AND JC JOHNSON
Since part of our Culture Keeper team is based in France, it seems appropriate to bring you a Culture Keeper take on one of France’s biggest news stories in the waning weeks of 2018: the Gilets Jaunes (“Yellow Vests” or “Yellow Jackets”) movement that made it into foreign news outlets when the protests turned violent in Paris. We’re not a breaking news outlet by any stretch of the imagination, but we are in the business of offering a bit of cultural context where we can. Which is what we seek to do here as we experiment with a new-to-us storytelling format that we hope to perfect over time.
STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAMI L. RICE
This week we’re joining the ranks of media outlets offering longer-read stories, because sometimes we all need a break from the sound-bite version of the world. So lean back, kick off your shoes, and tuck into this reminder of the less flashy ways the world’s countries interact with each other. No need to wait to be appointed as an ambassador, for you already are one.
STORY AND PHOTOS BY JC JOHNSON
During a summer visit to France, JC Johnson toured a chateau that was the site of its fair share of intrigue – making it the perfect setting for the newest installment in our roving View From Here series.
STORY BY HÉLÈNE SCHWITZER-BORGIALLO
ENGLISH TRANSLATION BY KAMI L. RICE
French academic Hélène Schwitzer-Borgiallo reports for us this week on innovative projects undertaken by a duo of English playwrights who are bringing together groups of people who don’t normally get to meet each other.
Mettre sa créativité au service de la rencontre des cultures : voilà l’objectif du duo de dramaturges anglais dont nous parle cette semaine Hélène Schwitzer-Borgiallo, enseignante à l’Université Paris 8.
STORY AND PHOTOS BY CATHERINE RICOUL
ENGLISH TRANSLATION BY KAMI L. RICE
Last year the Belle de Mai neighborhood of Marseille, France, gained a garden. Residents are working together to cultivate new life in ground that had lost its former glory. Thanks to our contributor Catherine Ricoul, one of forces behind the garden, we get to meander through the Jardin Levat as it dissolves (think film editing terms) from one season to the next.
STORY BY JONATHAN RANDALL GRANT
It is an act of courageous vulnerability to share a Paris city guide. This guide is as much a confession as a resource. No matter what places are shared, I am sure to get a few Parisian friends who think to themselves: "There is no way I would be seen there, dead or alive!... Of course it was okay to be seen there a few weeks ago, but we don't go there now."
