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Lauren Elkin https://www.laurenelkin.com/Gateway books /authorsGeorges PerecAnnie ErnauxMarguerite DurasColetteCurrent Reads / looking forward toCatherine Mansfield Esther Kinsky Desert Island BooksBreak of Day - Colette Annie Ernaux - Collected works Mrs Dalloway - Woolf Georges Perec - Species and Spaces
This special episode was recorded live at the Miu Miu Literary Club, which took place on 9th-10th April 2025 in Milan. Under the direction of Mrs Miuccia Prada, and now in its second iteration, the Literary Club is the latest in a series of cultural experiences devised by Miu Miu to promote the arts. - Lauren Elkin is the translator behind Simone de Beauvoir's posthumously published book ‘The Inseparables' - a focus text for this year's Miu Miu Literary Club - and she is the author of multiple non-fiction books and novels. These include 2024's ‘Scaffolding', which explores the ethics of desire, the transition from girlhood to womanhood, and the impact that formative teachers can have on our lives. - Deep Reading Lists can be found at phoebe.substack.com - @phoebelovatt @phoebelovattpubliclibrary @lauren_elkin_ @miumiu
Paris, 2019. An apartment in Belleville. Following a miscarriage and a breakdown, Anna, a psychoanalyst, finds herself unable to return to work. Instead, she obsesses over a kitchen renovation and befriends a new neighbor—a younger woman called Clémentine who has just moved into the building and is part of a radical feminist collective. Paris, 1972. The same apartment in Belleville. Florence and Henry are renovating their kitchen. She is finishing her degree in psychology, dropping into feminist activities, and devotedly attending the groundbreaking, infamous seminars held by the renowned analyst Jacques Lacan. She is hoping to conceive their first child, though Henry isn't sure he's ready for fatherhood. Two couples, fifty years apart, face the challenges of marriage, fidelity, and pregnancy. They inhabit this same small space in separate but similar times—times charged with political upheaval and intellectual controversy. A novel in the key of Éric Rohmer, Lauren Elkin's Scaffolding is about the way our homes collect and hold our memories and our stories, about the bonds we create and the difficulty of ever fully severing them, about the ways all the people we've loved live on in us. Lauren Elkin is also the author of Art Monsters and Flâneuse, a New York Times Books Review notable book and a finalist for the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay. Her essays have appeared in The New York Times, Le Monde, Frieze, and The Times Literary Supplement, among others. A native New Yorker, Elkin lived in Paris for twenty years and now resides in London. Recommended Books Italo Calvino, Under the Jaguar Sun Garth Greenwell, Small Rain Catherine Lacey, Möbius Strip The novels of Elizabeth Bowen Chris Holmes is Chair of Literatures in English and Associate Professor at Ithaca College. He writes criticism on contemporary global literatures. His book, Kazuo Ishiguro Against World Literature, is published with Bloomsbury Publishing. He is the co-director of The New Voices Festival, a celebration of work in poetry, prose, and playwriting by up-and-coming young writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Paris, 2019. An apartment in Belleville. Following a miscarriage and a breakdown, Anna, a psychoanalyst, finds herself unable to return to work. Instead, she obsesses over a kitchen renovation and befriends a new neighbor—a younger woman called Clémentine who has just moved into the building and is part of a radical feminist collective. Paris, 1972. The same apartment in Belleville. Florence and Henry are renovating their kitchen. She is finishing her degree in psychology, dropping into feminist activities, and devotedly attending the groundbreaking, infamous seminars held by the renowned analyst Jacques Lacan. She is hoping to conceive their first child, though Henry isn't sure he's ready for fatherhood. Two couples, fifty years apart, face the challenges of marriage, fidelity, and pregnancy. They inhabit this same small space in separate but similar times—times charged with political upheaval and intellectual controversy. A novel in the key of Éric Rohmer, Lauren Elkin's Scaffolding is about the way our homes collect and hold our memories and our stories, about the bonds we create and the difficulty of ever fully severing them, about the ways all the people we've loved live on in us. Lauren Elkin is also the author of Art Monsters and Flâneuse, a New York Times Books Review notable book and a finalist for the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay. Her essays have appeared in The New York Times, Le Monde, Frieze, and The Times Literary Supplement, among others. A native New Yorker, Elkin lived in Paris for twenty years and now resides in London. Recommended Books Italo Calvino, Under the Jaguar Sun Garth Greenwell, Small Rain Catherine Lacey, Möbius Strip The novels of Elizabeth Bowen Chris Holmes is Chair of Literatures in English and Associate Professor at Ithaca College. He writes criticism on contemporary global literatures. His book, Kazuo Ishiguro Against World Literature, is published with Bloomsbury Publishing. He is the co-director of The New Voices Festival, a celebration of work in poetry, prose, and playwriting by up-and-coming young writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
Paris, 2019. An apartment in Belleville. Following a miscarriage and a breakdown, Anna, a psychoanalyst, finds herself unable to return to work. Instead, she obsesses over a kitchen renovation and befriends a new neighbor—a younger woman called Clémentine who has just moved into the building and is part of a radical feminist collective. Paris, 1972. The same apartment in Belleville. Florence and Henry are renovating their kitchen. She is finishing her degree in psychology, dropping into feminist activities, and devotedly attending the groundbreaking, infamous seminars held by the renowned analyst Jacques Lacan. She is hoping to conceive their first child, though Henry isn't sure he's ready for fatherhood. Two couples, fifty years apart, face the challenges of marriage, fidelity, and pregnancy. They inhabit this same small space in separate but similar times—times charged with political upheaval and intellectual controversy. A novel in the key of Éric Rohmer, Lauren Elkin's Scaffolding is about the way our homes collect and hold our memories and our stories, about the bonds we create and the difficulty of ever fully severing them, about the ways all the people we've loved live on in us. Lauren Elkin is also the author of Art Monsters and Flâneuse, a New York Times Books Review notable book and a finalist for the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay. Her essays have appeared in The New York Times, Le Monde, Frieze, and The Times Literary Supplement, among others. A native New Yorker, Elkin lived in Paris for twenty years and now resides in London. Recommended Books Italo Calvino, Under the Jaguar Sun Garth Greenwell, Small Rain Catherine Lacey, Möbius Strip The novels of Elizabeth Bowen Chris Holmes is Chair of Literatures in English and Associate Professor at Ithaca College. He writes criticism on contemporary global literatures. His book, Kazuo Ishiguro Against World Literature, is published with Bloomsbury Publishing. He is the co-director of The New Voices Festival, a celebration of work in poetry, prose, and playwriting by up-and-coming young writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literature
Culture critic Brodie Lancaster breaks down the cardinal sin of Oscar sabotage; linguist Kate Burridge briefs us on Australia's semantic border security; comedian Tom Ballard goes full steam ahead with his new play The Queer Kingdom; it's on for Jung and old in Fi Wright's review of Lauren Elkin's novel Scaffolding, the team ask if pen pals are due for a re-write and Breakfasters' movie companion Megan McKeough raves over a robot girlfriend gone haywire. With presenters Monique Sebire, Daniel Burt & Nat Harris.Website: https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/programs/breakfasters/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Breakfasters3RRRFM/ X: https://x.com/breakfasters
In this episode, Matt speaks with Lauren Elkin about her new novel, Scaffolding. They discuss Lacan, marriage, and why Paris is so damn literary, among other things. Lauren Elkin is a French and American writer and translator, most recently the author of the novel Scaffolding (FSG), a New York Times Editor's Choice which the Observer called both "erudite" and "horny." Previous books include Art Monsters: Unruly Bodies in Feminist Art, No. 91/92: Notes on a Parisian Commute, and Flâneuse: Women Walk the City, which was a finalist for the 2018 PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay, a New York Times Editor's Choice and a Notable Books of 2017, a Radio 4 Book of the Week, and a best book of 2016 by the Guardian, the Financial Times, the New Statesman, and the Observer. Her writings on books, art, and culture have appeared in a variety of publications including the London Review of Books, the New York Times, Granta, Harper's, Le Monde, the Times Literary Supplement, Les Inrockuptibles, and Frieze, and her essay "This is the Beginning of Writing," published in the Sewanee Review, was awarded notable distinction in the Best American Essays of 2019, edited by Rebecca Solnit. Her website is: https://www.laurenelkin.com/ You can find her on BlueSky here: https://bsky.app/profile/laurenelkin.bsky.social The Spotify playlist she created for the novel is here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3saYDj2BSKyCFWGXsUhCTZ?si=f7a471a0e77e45bc Contact Dave & Matt: Email - concavityshow@gmail.com Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/concavityshow/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/ConcavityShow Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/concavityshow Threadless Merch Store - https://concavityshow.threadless.com/
This week, Lauren Elkin on a Nobel Prize-winner's obsession with images; and Judith Flanders assesses bold claims about the origins of contemporary English.'The Use of Photography', by Annie Ernaux and Marc Marie, translated by Alison L. Strayer'La Langue Anglaise N'existe Pas: C'est du français mal prononcé', by Bernard CerquigliniProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In 2019, Anna, a psychoanalyst, is processing a recent miscarriage. Her husband, David, takes a job in London so she spends days obsessing over renovating the kitchen while befriending a younger woman called Clémentine who has moved into the building and is part of a radical feminist collective called les colleuses. Meanwhile, in 1972, Florence and Henry are redoing their kitchen. Florence is finishing her degree in psychology while hoping to get pregnant. But Henry isn't sure he's ready for fatherhood… Both sets of couples face the challenges of marriage, fidelity, and pregnancy. The characters and their ghosts bump into and weave around each other, not knowing that they once all inhabited the same space.A novel in the key of Éric Rohmer, Scaffolding is about the bonds we create with people, and the difficulty of ever fully severing them; about the ways that people we've known live on in us; and about the way that the homes we make hold communal memories of the people who've lived in them and the stories that have been told there.*Lauren Elkin is the author of several books, including Flâneuse: Women Walk the City, a Radio 4 Book of the Week, a New York Times Notable Book of 2017, and a finalist for the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel award for the art of the essay. Her essays on art, literature, and culture have appeared in the London Review of Books, the New York Times, Granta, Harper's, Le Monde, Les Inrockuptibles, and Frieze, among others. She is also an award-winning translator, most recently of Simone de Beauvoir's previously unpublished novel The Inseparables. After twenty years in Paris, she now lives in London.Born in Philadelphia, Amanda Dennis studied modern languages at Princeton and Cambridge Universities before earning her PhD from the University of California, Berkeley and her MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop, where she was awarded a Whited Fellowship in creative writing. An avid traveler, she has lived in six countries, including Thailand, where she spent a year as a Princeton in Asia fellow. She has written about literature for the Los Angeles Review of Books and Guernica, and she is assistant professor of comparative literature and creative writing at the American University of Paris, where she is researching the influence of 20th-century French philosophy on the work of Samuel Beckett. Listen to Alex Freiman's latest EP, In The Beginning: https://open.spotify.com/album/5iZYPMCUnG7xiCtsFCBlVa?si=h5x3FK1URq6SwH9Kb_SO3w Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Colombe Schneck's THE PARIS TRILOGY is a book—or rather three books, first published separately in French—about growing up, about friendship, about love, about family, about class, about womanhood and the patriarchy…and about swimming. In short, about every side of a life, as it just happens to take place in Paris. Rendered in crisp, fluid English by translators Lauren Elkin and Natasha Lehrer—who joins the conversation— THE PARIS TRILOGY begins with SEVENTEEN, a searingly frank account of the abortion the writer had as a teenager, passes through FRIENDSHIP, the devastating record of a childhood bond cut brutally short, and concludes with SWIMMING: A LOVE STORY, the chronicle of how this particular sport helped her build, and then grieve, a relationship.Buy The Paris Trilogy: https://www.shakespeareandcompany.com/books/the-paris-trilogy*Colombe Schneck is the author of eleven books of fiction and non-fiction, she has received prizes from the Académie Française, Madame Figaro and the Society of French Writers. The recipient of scholarships from the Villa Medicis in Rome and the Institut Français, as well as a Stendhal grant which allows French writers to do research and write abroad, she also spent fifteen years as a broadcaster for Canal Plus, France TV and Radio France. She was born in Paris in 1966 where she still lives, is a graduate of Sciences Po and Université de Paris II with a degree in Public Law.Adam Biles is Literary Director at Shakespeare and Company. His latest novel, Beasts of England, a sequel of sorts to Animal Farm, is available now. Buy a signed copy here: https://www.shakespeareandcompany.com/books/beasts-of-englandListen to Alex Freiman's latest EP, In The Beginning: https://open.spotify.com/album/5iZYPMCUnG7xiCtsFCBlVa?si=h5x3FK1URq6SwH9Kb_SO3w Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In her debut novel Scaffolding (Chatto) Lauren Elkin – ‘The Susan Sontag of her generation', according to Deborah Levy – presents two couples occupying the same Paris apartment, five decades apart. Lauren Elkin's previous works include Art Monsters, a landmark study of women artists, Flâneuse and a translation of Simone de Beauvoir's The Inseparables. She was joined in conversation by writer and broadcaster Octavia Bright.Find more events at the Bookshop: https://lrb.me/eventspodGet the book: https://lrb.me/scaffoldingpod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Listen to author and critic Erica Wagner in conversation with Lauren Elkin, writer of “Scaffolding”, her first novel published by Chatto & Windus in 2024 which raises questions about marriage, fidelity and abortion. Through this conversation with Erica Wagner, Lauren Elkin discusses her writing process and the influence of her experience as a researcher on her work as a novelist. Together, they also talk about Paris, the city where the story takes place and where Lauren Elkin lived for many years, the feminist movements that inspired her as well as her conception of love.As part of the Rendez-vous littéraires rue Cambon [Literary Rendezvous at Rue Cambon], the podcast "les Rencontres" highlights the birth of a writer in a series imagined by CHANEL and House ambassador and spokesperson Charlotte Casiraghi.Lauren Elkin, Scaffolding © Lauren Elkin, 2024.Excerpt from Scaffolding by Lauren Elkin. Copyright © 2024 by Lauren Elkin. Used by permission of Farrar, Straus and Giroux. All Rights ReservedLauren Elkin, Flâneuse: Women Walk the City in Paris, New York, Tokyo, Venice, and London, © Lauren Elkin, 2016. Vintage, 2017Lauren Elkin, Flaneuse: Women Walk the City in Paris, New Yok, Tokyo, Venice and London by Lauren Elkin. Copyright © 2016 by Lauren Elkin. Used by permission of Farrar, Straus and Giroux. All Rights Reserved© PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the EssayMichelle Perrot The Bedroom, An Intimate History, Translation by Lauren Elkin, © Yale University Press, 2018Histoire de chambres, Michelle Perrot © Éditions du Seuil, 2009, Points, 2018Claude Arnaud, Jean Cocteau: A Life, Translation by Lauren Elkin and Charlotte Mandell, © Yale University Press, 2016Claude Arnaud, Jean Cocteau © Éditions Gallimard, 2003© French-American Foundation – United States Translation PrizeLauren Elkin, No 91/92: notes on a Parisian commute, published by Les Fugitives, London, in 2021Lauren Elkin, Art Monsters: Unruly Bodies in Feminist Art, © Lauren Elkin 2023Victor Hugo, Les Misérables, 1862Elizabeth Bowen, The House in Paris, © Elizabeth Cameron, 1935, Copyright © renewed by Elizabeth D. C. Cameron 1963Georges Perrec, Ellis Island, P.O.L, 1995Mayra Davey, Index Cards: Selected Essays, © New Directions, 2020Mary Beard, Women & Power: A Manifesto, © Profile Books, 2017James Wood, How Fiction Works, © Wylie AgencyHow Fiction Works by James Wood, Copyright © 2008 by James Wood. Used by permission of Farrar, Straus and Giroux. All Rights Reserved
Listen to author and critic Erica Wagner in conversation with Lauren Elkin, writer of “Scaffolding”, her first novel published by Chatto & Windus in 2024 which raises questions about marriage, fidelity and abortion. Through this conversation with Erica Wagner, Lauren Elkin discusses her writing process and the influence of her experience as a researcher on her work as a novelist. Together, they also talk about Paris, the city where the story takes place and where Lauren Elkin lived for many years, the feminist movements that inspired her as well as her conception of love.As part of the Rendez-vous littéraires rue Cambon [Literary Rendezvous at Rue Cambon], the podcast "les Rencontres" highlights the birth of a writer in a series imagined by CHANEL and House ambassador and spokesperson Charlotte Casiraghi.Lauren Elkin, Scaffolding © Lauren Elkin, 2024.Excerpt from Scaffolding by Lauren Elkin. Copyright © 2024 by Lauren Elkin. Used by permission of Farrar, Straus and Giroux. All Rights ReservedLauren Elkin, Flâneuse: Women Walk the City in Paris, New York, Tokyo, Venice, and London, © Lauren Elkin, 2016. Vintage, 2017Lauren Elkin, Flaneuse: Women Walk the City in Paris, New Yok, Tokyo, Venice and London by Lauren Elkin. Copyright © 2016 by Lauren Elkin. Used by permission of Farrar, Straus and Giroux. All Rights Reserved© PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the EssayMichelle Perrot The Bedroom, An Intimate History, Translation by Lauren Elkin, © Yale University Press, 2018Histoire de chambres, Michelle Perrot © Éditions du Seuil, 2009, Points, 2018Claude Arnaud, Jean Cocteau: A Life, Translation by Lauren Elkin and Charlotte Mandell, © Yale University Press, 2016Claude Arnaud, Jean Cocteau © Éditions Gallimard, 2003© French-American Foundation – United States Translation PrizeLauren Elkin, No 91/92: notes on a Parisian commute, published by Les Fugitives, London, in 2021Lauren Elkin, Art Monsters: Unruly Bodies in Feminist Art, © Lauren Elkin 2023Victor Hugo, Les Misérables, 1862Elizabeth Bowen, The House in Paris, © Elizabeth Cameron, 1935, Copyright © renewed by Elizabeth D. C. Cameron 1963Georges Perrec, Ellis Island, P.O.L, 1995Mayra Davey, Index Cards: Selected Essays, © New Directions, 2020Mary Beard, Women & Power: A Manifesto, © Profile Books, 2017James Wood, How Fiction Works, © Wylie AgencyHow Fiction Works by James Wood, Copyright © 2008 by James Wood. Used by permission of Farrar, Straus and Giroux. All Rights Reserved
Beth Golay recently spoke with "Scaffolding" author, Lauren Elkin, about exploring grief, desire, love and fidelity.
Lauren Elkin, Michèle Roberts and Maria Balshaw
The Guilty Feminist 403. Scaffolding and The InseparablesPresented by Deborah Frances-White with Jessica Fostekew and special guest Lauren ElkinRecorded 3 July 2024 at Waterstones Piccadilly. Released 15 July.The Guilty Feminist theme composed by Mark Hodge. More about Deborah Frances-Whitehttps://deborahfrances-white.comhttps://twitter.com/DeborahFWhttps://www.virago.co.uk/the-guilty-feminist-bookMore about Jessica Fostekewhttp://jessicafostekew.comhttps://twitter.com/jessicafostekewhttps://twitter.com/thehooveringpodhttps://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001kh5rMore about Lauren Elkinhttps://www.instagram.com/lauren_elkin_https://www.laurenelkin.comhttps://www.waterstones.com/author/lauren-elkin/1525507For more information about this and other episodes…visit https://www.guiltyfeminist.comtweet us https://www.twitter.com/guiltfempodlike our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/guiltyfeministcheck out our Instagram https://www.instagram.com/theguiltyfeministor join our mailing list http://www.eepurl.com/bRfSPTOur new podcasts are out nowMedia Storm https://podfollow.com/media-stormAbsolute Power https://podfollow.com/john-bercows-absolute-powerCome to a live recording:Kings Place, 15 July: https://shop.kingsplace.co.uk/30328/30331Edinburgh Fringe, 12-14 August: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/guilty-feministLondon Podcast Festival, 8 September: https://shop.kingsplace.co.uk/30640/30641Thank you to our amazing Patreon supporters.To support the podcast yourself, go to https://www.patreon.com/guiltyfeminist You can also get an ad-free version of the podcast via Apple Podcasts or Acast+ https://plus.acast.com/s/guiltyfeminist. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
1917: Virginia Woolf arrives at Asheham, on the Sussex Downs, immobilized by nervous exhaustion and creative block.1930: Feeling jittery about her writing career, Sylvia Townsend Warner spots a modest workman's cottage for sale on the Dorset coast.1941: Rosamond Lehmann settles in a Berkshire village, seeking a lovers' retreat, a refuge from war, and a means of becoming 'a writer again'.Harriet Baker describes in Rural Hours (Allen Lane) how three very different writers, more often associated with city living, found solace and inspiration in the English countryside. She was in conversation with Lauren Elkin, author of Art Monsters and Flâneuse and translator of Simone de Beauvoir's The Inseparables. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
On this episode, we were joined by author Lauren to discuss her hypnotising debut novel, 'Scaffolding', which charts the lives of two couples, both living in the same Paris apartment almost fifty years apart.Lauren spoke to us about the decades-long journey towards bringing this novel to life, and how her career as a translator and non-fiction writer allowed her to freedom to craft this book in precisely the way she envisioned it. We also spoke about monogamy and relationships, and how the novel was crafted 'in the key of Eric Rohmer,' the idiosyncratic 20th-century filmmaker who told Paris-set stories following the romantic and moral conflicts of glamorous young people.
Colombe Schneck is the author of Swimming in Paris: A Life in Three Stories, available from Penguin Press. Translated by Lauren Elkin and Natasha Lehrer. Schneck is documentary film director, a journalist, and the author of twelve books of fiction and nonfiction. She has received prizes from the Académie française, Madame Figaro, and the Société des gens de lettres. The recipient of a scholarship from the Villa Medici in Rome as well as a Stendhal grant from the Institut français, she was born and educated in Paris, where she still lives. Lauren Elkin is the author of several books, including Art Monsters: Unruly Bodies in Feminist Art and Flâneuse: Women Walk the City in Paris, New York, Tokyo, Venice, and London, a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week, a New York Times Notable Book of 2017, and a finalist for the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay. Her essays on art, literature, and culture have appeared in the London Review of Books, The New York Times, Granta, Harper's, Le Monde, Les Inrockuptibles, and Frieze, among other publications. She is also an award-winning translator, most recently of Simone de Beauvoir's previously unpublished novel The Inseparables. After twenty years in Paris, she now lives in London. Natasha Lehrer is a writer, translator, editor, and teacher. Her essays and reviews have appeared in The Guardian, The Observer (London), The Times Literary Supplement, The Nation, Frieze, and other journals. As literary editor of the Jewish Quarterly she has worked with writers including Deborah Levy, George Prochnik, and Joanna Rakoff. She has contributed to several books, most recently Looking for an Enemy: 8 Essays on Antisemitism. She has translated over two dozen books, including works by Georges Bataille, Robert Desnos, Amin Maalouf, Vanessa Springora, and Chantal Thomas. In 2016, she won the Scott Moncrieff Prize for Suite for Barbara Loden by Nathalie Léger. She lives in Paris. *** Otherppl with Brad Listi is a weekly literary podcast featuring in-depth interviews with today's leading writers. Available where podcasts are available: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, etc. Subscribe to Brad Listi's email newsletter. Support the show on Patreon Merch Twitter Instagram TikTok Bluesky Email the show: letters [at] otherppl [dot] com The podcast is a proud affiliate partner of Bookshop, working to support local, independent bookstores. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What do a comment made on the Great British Bake-Off, a 1970's television interview with southern author, Eudora Welty, and a Michigan Mer-man have in common? Glad you asked! They all explore ideas of monstrousness, the topic of this episode -- specifically channeling our inner monstrous creative selves to create work that is rich, bold, memorable and unique. [Evil laugh of Nosferatu] Come along with me on my search for aspirational creative monstrosity. Television programs mentioned: "Great British Bakeoff:" Season 11, Episode 3, Rowan Claughton with Paul Hollywood "Firing Line" with William F. Buckley: "The Southern Imagination in Literature" 1972 with Eudora Welty and Walker Percy Artists mentioned: Francisco José de Goya, Jean Dubuffet, James Ensor, Francis Bacon, The Monster Roster group (Chicago), Brenda Goodman ("Self-Portrait 2” 1994), Steve DiBenedetto ("Rosemary's Baby's Baby" 2021), Whit Harris ("Maiden" 2023) and Louise Bourgeois ("Femme" 2006) Publications mentioned: "Where Is the Voice Coming From" a short story by Eudora Welty, "Art Monsters: Unruly Bodies in Feminist Art" book by Lauren Elkin, "Monsters of the Midwest: True Tales of Bigfoot, Werewolves & Other Legendary Creatures" book by Jessica Freeburg and Natalie Fowler All music by Soundstripe ---------------------------- Peps has a Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/PepTalksforArtists! Join the Peps fam on Patreon and become a part of the Pep Talks Peerage today. Pep Talks on IG: @peptalksforartists Amy, your beloved host, on IG: @talluts Pep Talks on Art Spiel as written essays: https://tinyurl.com/7k82vd8s BuyMeACoffee Donations always appreciated! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/peptalksforartistspod/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/peptalksforartistspod/support
Lauren Elkin is an award winning Franco-American writer, translator and cultural critic. In 2023 she published the bestseller Art Monsters: Unruly Bodies in Feminist Art. A dazzlingly original reassessment of women's stories, bodies and art - and how we think about them. For decades, feminist artists have confronted the problem of how to tell the truth about their experiences as bodies. Queer bodies, sick bodies, racialized bodies, female bodies, what is their language, what are the materials we need to transcribe it? Exploring the ways in which feminist artists have taken up this challenge, Art Monsters attempts to rethink the concept of the monstrous and to theorize a feminist aesthetics of the body.
On today's episode of The Lives of Writers, Kaycie Hall interviews Lauren Elkin.Kaycie Hall is the lead editor of our online journal Autofocus. She's also a writer and literary translator, whose work has appeared in Peach Mag, Neutral Spaces, Triangle House Review, and other journals. Lauren Elkin is a writer and translator of many books, most recently the author of Art Monsters: Unruly Bodies in Feminist Art and the UK translator of Simone de Beauvoir's previously unpublished novel The Inseparables. UK and US versions of her novel Scaffolding are coming out later this year.____________PART ONE, topics include:-- winding down publication publicity-- growing up focused on the performing arts -- Lauren's previous book Flâneuse-- Lauren's new book Art Monsters-- intervening in the conversation around feminism-- the temptation to make the book about one person____________PART TWO, topics include:-- pregnancy shifting the shape of the book -- the pandemic contributing to the shifting-- Lauren's translation work-- managing reading hours (or not)-- a forthcoming novel____________Podcast theme music by Mike Nagel, author of Duplex and Culdesac. Here's his music project: Yeah Yeah Cool Cool.The Lives of Writers is edited and produced by Michael Wheaton.Episode and show artwork by Amy Wheaton.
In this episode we are listening to Benjamin Moser and Lauren Elkin discuss Ben's recent publication The Upside-Down World: Meetings with the Dutch Masters, which was recorded in October 2023, live in the bookshop. With the company of some of the finest artists known, Benjamin Moser discusses art, life, and death, with the passion of a knowledgeable guide who dismantles the hierarchical barrier that art can invoke in many of us. Benjamin Moser is a biographer and translator. His work Sontag: Her Life and Work won a Pulitzer Prize in 2020. Lauren Elkin is the author of Flaneuse: Women Walk the City in Paris, New York, Tokyo, Venice and London, and Art Monsters: Unruly Bodies in Feminist Art. Libreria wishes to thank Allen Lane and Penguin Random House for the opportunity to host this live discussion at the bookshop.
In this episode, art historian and broadcaster Carrie Scott is joined by Turner Prize-winning artist and activist Lubaina Himid, writer Lauren Elkin and Head of Modern and Contemporary African Art at Sotheby's Hannah O'Leary for a conversation exploring modern city life from the perspective of female artists. This podcast was originally a live event, time to highlight the touring exhibition Found Cities, Lost Objects: Women in the City, curated by Himid, which features works from the Arts Council Collection. To see the works discussed in this episode, or to watch an extended version of this talk, visit https://www.sothebys.com/en/series/sothebys-talks/celebrating-women-artists-in-the-city-with-lubaina-himid And, to step further into the world of Sotheby's, you can visit any of our galleries around the world; they're open to the public. For more information, visit sothebys.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Summary No guest today in what is my first episode of the new year. I promise no New Year's resolutions except one: to read and digest as many books as I can during the year. Given my interest in books, I was curious to know what some of my colleagues, friends, and family members will read in 2024. So, I contacted more than 40 of them, asking them for a brief bio, their book of choice, and why that title might find its way to their nightstand. I thought that maybe I'd hear from a few, but that many might be too busy to respond, given the fast-approaching holiday. Their responses poured in: Jesse Kohler is the President and Chair of The Change Campaign and also serves as Executive Director of the Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice. Going to read Preventing and Healing Climate Traumas: A Guide to Building Resilience and Hope in Communities by Bob Doppelt. Because the climate crisis is widely traumatizing. Promoting support across our society to work through it together is one of the most critical callings of our time. Paul McNicholls is a lay historian and author. Going to read Victory to Defeat: The British Army 1918–40 by Richard Dannatt and Robert Lyman. Because what happened to the British Army between the First and Second World Wars explains why they were summarily defeated by the Germans and had to be evacuated from the beaches at Dunkirk in 1940. Frank Zaccari is a best-selling author and CEO of Life Altering Events, LLC. Going to read The Passion Test by Janet and Chris Attwood. Because over my long time on the planet, my passion – or what I thought was my passion – has changed many times. Now, in my semi-retirement, this book will help me focus on finding my next passion where I can make a difference. Neil C. Hughes is a freelance technology journalist, podcast host and engineer, and the producer of "Tech Talks Daily" and "Tech Fusion" by Citrix Ready. Going to read Freedom to Think: Protecting a Fundamental Human Right in the Digital Age by Susie Alegr. Because this title will deepen my understanding of the intersection between technology, privacy, and human rights in the digital age. Melissa Hughes, Ph.D. is a neuroscience researcher, speaker, and author of Happy Hour with Einstein and Happier Hour with Einstein: Another Round. Going to read Misbelief by Dan Ariely. Because the human brain is so incredible and so incredibly flawed (and because I read everything that Dan Ariely writes!) And Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things by Adam Grant. Because we all have hidden potential begging to be discovered. Valerie Gordon is a former Emmy-winning television producer who brings the Art of Storytelling for Impact and Influence to audiences and corporate leaders. Going to read Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things by Adam Grant. Because I found his previous works to be insightful and helpful in my business as well as in meeting my own goals. I recommend it to anyone interested in the human mind and its impact on realizing our potential. Rich Gassen is a print production manager at UW-Madison and also leads a community of practice for supervisors where we explore topics on leadership and staff development. Going to read Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things by Adam Grant. Because I have always sought to improve myself and those around me to achieve more through better processes, incorporating efficiencies, and harnessing strengths. I feel that this book will bring me to another level in being able to do that. Sarah Elkins is a StrengthFinder coach and story consultant, keynote speaker, podcast host, and the author of Your Stories Don't Define You, How You Tell Them Will. Going to read Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson. Because I've become especially sensitive to representation over the past few years, and I talk about wanting to support all people. Reading a book by a person of color and understanding her back story is one way to help me do that. Diane Wyzga is a global podcaster, a story expert who helps clients clarify ideas and amplify messaging, and a hiker – who walks the talk. Going to read The Perfection Trap - Embracing the Power of Good Enough by Thomas Curran. Because as I've become aware of our culture's dangerous obsession with perfection, I want to learn to step away from my own focus on it. Bill Whiteside is a retired software salesman who is now writing a book about Winston Churchill and a little-known event from World War II. Going to read Larry McMurtry: A Life by Tracy Daugherty. Because after spending the past five years researching my book with my nose in books about Britain and France in 1940, it's going to be refreshing to read just for fun once again. McMurtry's personality and career as a bookstore owner and a highly regarded author – “Lonesome Dove," “The Last Picture Show” and “Terms of Endearment” – fascinate me. Mark Reid is a maker of traditional handmade Japanese paper and host of the Zen Sammich podcast. Going to read The Moon and Sixpence by W. Somerset Maugham. Because the main character's internal moral challenges and the battle with societal expectations are compelling for me to read about and contemplate. Mark O'Brien is the founder and principal of O'Brien Communications Group, a B2B brand-management and marketing-communications firm, and host of The Anxious Voyage, a syndicated radio show about life's trials and triumphs. Going to read Lyrical and Critical Essays by Albert Camus. Because as a longtime fan of Camus' existential work, I look forward to stretching my thick Irish noggin to let in a tad more light – as I always try to do. Hope Blecher is an educational consultant and the founder of Hope's Compass, www.HopesCompass.org, a non-profit that helps members of the community and visitors to interact with survivors of the Holocaust and children of survivors through arts, music, poetry, prose, and more. Going to (re)read The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exuperty. Because I experience something new each time I read it. And Art Matters: Because Your Imagination Can Change the World by Neil Gaiman and Chris Riddell. Because I'm curious about what these authors will say that will help me continue on my own pathway of exploring art. Christine Mason is the Cultivating Resilience podcast co-host, educational psychologist researcher, entrepreneur, and yoga instructor/mindfulness coach. Going to read From Beirut to Jerusalem by Thomas L. Friedman. Because Friedman knows the region exceptionally well, this book will provide me with a greater understanding of the underlying regional and religious tensions and conflicts and also prepare me to lead others in a deeper discussion toward a potential resolution and peace. Tammy Hader is a retired accountant, a lifetime Kansan, a storyteller, a caregiver, and an author. (See above.) Going to read Bowling Alone by Robert Putnam. Because our relationships – our social capital – continue to be degraded in the current environment, so I want to study it, defend against it, and learn how to shift myself and my community into improved connections. Cindy House is the author of Mother Noise, a memoir about her recovery from addiction. She is a regular opener for David Sedaris on his book lecture circuit. She is also my memoir instructor. Going to read Art Monster: Unruly Bodies in Feminist Art by Lauren Elkin. Because the book looks at women artists and their work as a reaction against the patriarchy. In these days of watching the GOP war against women, it seems especially important as a woman in the arts to consider how my work can be a protest against extreme political positions. Susan Rooks – the Grammar Goddess – is an editor/proofreader who helps nonfiction/business content authors of books/blogs/websites and podcasters and their episode transcriptions look and sound as smart as they are. Going to read Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity by Peter Attia, MD. Because as I age, I'm interested in doing everything I can to stay alive in a healthy manner. Steve Ehrlich is a lifelong educator and has an equally long-standing calling in fly fishing. He combines those two loves in classes on the lessons of fly fishing and its treasured literature for personal and professional growth, renewal and healing, and social change. Going to read An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us by Ed Yong. Because I've always been intrigued by the interconnectedness of things, especially the things we can't fully understand. Such a mystery is at the heart of this book, which is about how animals are connected to one another in so many ways and in a manner that most of us have difficulty comprehending. Annette Taylor is a rogue researcher of evolutionary psychology. Going to finish We Are Electric by Sally Adee – but doing so scares me... Because it seems like the author is justifying our “merging” with AI or at least romanticizing our ever increasing entanglements with technology. And since I like to simplify life using a cave-dweller perspective, this idea freaks me out. Leon Ikler is a commercial photographer primarily shooting tabletop and small room scenes in the studio along with a mix of location work. Going to read Democracy Awakening by Heather Cox Richardson. Because in these contentious times with the nation so divided, I like how she frames today's issues against what has taken place in the past. I feel it is essential to know our history so we can try to avoid making the same mistakes again. Rita Grant is a former award-winning video producer. Going to reread The United States of Arugula by David Kamp. Because it's a great reminder of how our current American culinary landscape was created. I'm ending with Rita because she also sent in another suggestion. Not a book, but a song – "You Can't Take That Away From Me," sung by the incomparable Ella Fitzgerald. As Rita noted, "The lyrics will stand the test of time. They're a testament to what we hold in our hearts and imagination that can never be taken from us."
Lauren Elkin is the author of Art Monsters: Unruly Bodies in Feminist Art, available from Farrar, Straus, & Giroux. Elkin's essays have appeared in many publications, including The New York Times, The Guardian, Frieze, and The Times Literary Supplement. Her book Flâneuse was named a notable book of 2017 by The New York Times Book Review and was a finalist for the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay. A native New Yorker, she lived in Paris for twenty years and now resides in London. *** Otherppl with Brad Listi is a weekly literary podcast featuring in-depth interviews with today's leading writers. Available where podcasts are available: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, etc. Subscribe to Brad Listi's email newsletter. Support the show on Patreon Merch Twitter Instagram TikTok Bluesky Email the show: letters [at] otherppl [dot] com The podcast is a proud affiliate partner of Bookshop, working to support local, independent bookstores. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This week, Lauren Elkin takes an artistic stroll in the footsteps of Gertrude Stein; and Maria Margaronis goes in search of Willa Cather deep in the Midwest.'Gertrude Stein et Pablo Picasso: L'invention du langage', at the Musée du Luxembourg, Paris, until 28 January 2024'Chasing Bright Medusas: A life of Willa Cather', by Benjamin TaylorProduced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
I am so excited to say that my guest on the GWA Podcast is one of the most brilliant writers around today, Lauren Elkin! On today's episode we speak about feminist pioneers, Carolee Schneemann and Hannah Wilke!! Elkin is an American in London who has lived and spent extensive time in Paris, Liverpool, Tokyo, Venice and New York – as outlined in one of my favourite of her books, Flaneuse, which sees her trace cities through the eyes and steps of female writers and artists as the feminine “flaneur”, one who walks aimlessly. She is excellent at making her own a term or a trait previously steeped in patriarchal meaning. The author of four books, and the translator of others – including of Simone de Beauvoir's unpublished novel, The Inseparables – Elkin has received numerous awards for her writing. She has been a cultural critic for the likes of the New York Times, Harpers, London Review of Books, TLS, Frieze, and more; holds a PhD in English; an M.Phil in French; and is currently working on biographies on the likes of avant-garde tastemaker Getrude Stein and artist Louise Bourgeois. But! One of the reasons why we are speaking with Elkin today is because she has recently published a fantastic book, Art Monsters, which looks at a variety of female artists – from Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun to Laura Knight; Betye Saar to Carolee Schneemann; Eva Hesse and Hannah Wilke; Kara Walker and Maria Lassnig – who have centred their practice around the body. Exploring those who reacted against patriarchal portrayals and ideas of the body, Art Monsters is a fascinating insight into how women have broken from the historically-weighted past and configured a language using a voice unique to them. LAUREN'S BOOKS: https://www.waterstones.com/book/art-monsters/lauren-elkin/9781784742935 https://www.waterstones.com/book/flaneuse/lauren-elkin/9780099593379 https://www.waterstones.com/book/no-91-92-notes-on-a-parisian-commute/lauren-elkin/9781838014186 -- THIS EPISODE IS GENEROUSLY SUPPORTED BY THE LEVETT COLLECTION: https://www.instagram.com/famm.mougins // https://www.merrellpublishers.com/9781858947037 ENJOY!!! Follow us: Katy Hessel: @thegreatwomenartists / @katy.hessel Sound editing by Nada Smiljanic Music by Ben Wetherfield https://www.thegreatwomenartists.com/
What does it mean, to pursue a life of your own? And what is art and literature's role in figuring out what that might look like? This month we're delighted to be talking to writer and filmmaker Xiaolu Guo, whose latest book Radical: A Life of My Own is both a personal lexicon and a memoir, which thinks deeply about what it would mean to truly forge a life of one's own. As we announced on our last minisode, we're wrapping up Literary Friction at the end of this year, so this is our last author interview. Xiaolu is a really fitting last guest, because of how she thinks about things like language, translation, freedom and radicality through literature, which are many of the themes we've returned to again and again over the last decade of shows. Don't worry though - this isn't our final episode! We'll be bringing you a bumper edition of our year in review in a couple of weeks' time. Recommendations on the theme, A Life of One's Own: Octavia: The Flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner Carrie: The Wren, The Wren by Anne Enright General Recommendations: Octavia: Far From the Tree by Andrew Solomon Xiaolu: Art Monsters by Lauren Elkin, and Humanly Possible by Sarah Bakewell Carrie: Trust by Hernan Diaz Find a list of all recommended books at: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/december-2023-a-life-of-one-s-own-with-xiaolu-guo Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/litfriction Email us: litfriction@gmail.com
For decades, feminist artists have confronted the problem of how to tell the truth about their experiences as bodies. Queer bodies, sick bodies, racialised bodies, female bodies, what is their language, what are the materials we need to transcribe it?Exploring the ways in which feminist artists have taken up this challenge, Lauren Elkin's Art Monsters is a landmark intervention in how we think about art and the body, calling attention to a radical heritage of feminist work that not only reacts against patriarchy but redefines its own aesthetic aims.Elkin talks about it with Vanessa Peterson, Associate Editor, frieze magazine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Lauren Elkin is a writer and translator, most recently the author of Art Monsters: Unruly Bodies in Feminist Art and the UK translator of Simone de Beauvoir's previously unpublished novel The Inseparables. Her writing has appeared in a variety of publications including the London Review of Books, the New York Times, Granta, Harper's, Le Monde, the Times Literary Supplement and Frieze. Laurens books were Bodies of Work by Kathy Acker and The Art Of Cruelty by Maggie Nelson. Read Laurens tribute to Hilary Mantel here Listening to Ghosts | Lauren Elkin (astra-mag.com) TRIGGER WARNING This episode contains discussions of PTSD and the depiction of traumatic events including discussion of 9/11 and gun control in the States. Listener discretion is advised.
New narrative was a way of mixing philosophical and literary theory with writing about the body and pop culture. It was promoted by a group of writers in 1970s San Francisco. One of the chapters in New Generation Thinker Diarmuid Hester's new book Nothing Ever Just Disappears explores their work. He joins Dodie Bellamy in a programme exploring different aspects of the gay imagination and the re-inventing of tradition presented by Naomi Paxton. Alongside them is Lauren Elkin, author of a study of unruly bodies in feminist art called Art Monsters which explores artists including Carolee Schneemann, and the influence of writers like Kathy Acker. And James Corley has adapted a play, opening at Wilton's in London, which takes an influential essay by Merle Miller as its starting point. Producer: Luke Mulhall You can find a collection called Identity Discussion on the Free Thinking programme website which includes episodes about including Rocky Horror and camp, the V&A exhibition Diva, punk, tattoos, and perfecting the body. Based on the essay On Being Different by Merle Miller, James Corley's What It Means is at Wilton's Music Hall in London 4th - 28th October 2023 Dodie Bellamy's first novel, The Letters of Mina Harker, took a character from Bram Stoker's Dracula. She has also published poetry, essays and memoirs. Nothing Ever Just Disappears Seven Hidden Histories by Diarmuid Hester is out now. He is a New Generation Thinker on the scheme run by Radio 3 and the Arts and Humanities Council to put academic research on the radio and you can find him talking about Derek Jarman's Garden in a previous Free Thinking episode https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000jgm5 exploring Stories of Love including Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001hxhk and hosting an Arts and Ideas podcast episode about Raiding Gay's the Word & Magnus Hirschfeld https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0ff53xv Check out Forever Blue - Radio 3's broadcast on Sunday and then on BBC Sounds of a programme inspired by Derek Jarman's Blue, the film released 30 years ago which was also broadcast on Radio 3.
Extinction, Iarla Ó Lionáird - Christopher Nolan Review, with Chris Wasser - Art Monsters by Lauren Elkin.
This week on Les Bookworms Pod features two Paris memoirs that we enjoyed reading: Paris on Air by Oliver Gee and No. 91/92: notes on a Parisian commute by Lauren Elkin. Two short reads that transport you directly to the heart of Paris. Both stories touch on the experience of living in Paris following the 2015 terrorist attacks, while also navigating personal insights and reflections of the daily experience of life as foreigners in Paris and France in general. We are longtime fans of both and enjoyed reflecting on what about these books spoke to us. You can find fuller episode description and other book reviews on our blog: https://lesbookwormspod.com For current reads and a dose of French living, check out our Instagram: @lesbookwormspod
Den Begriff der "Flaneuse", dem weiblichen Pendant zum berühmten "Flaneur", gibt es nicht? In ihren Essays spürt Lauren Elkin der flanierenden Frau in New York, London und Tokio nach. Lesung mit Katja Schild. Moderation: Kirsten Böttcher
Den Begriff der "Flaneuse", dem weiblichen Pendant zum berühmten "Flaneur", gibt es nicht? In ihren Essays spürt Lauren Elkin der flanierenden Frau in New York, London oder Tokio nach. Lesung in zwei Teilen mit Lisa Wagner und Katja Schild. Moderation: Kirsten Böttcher
In the spring of 2020 Lara Feigel found herself locked down with her partner, her two children and the works of D.H. Lawrence. In Look! We Have Come Through! (Bloomsbury) she blends biography, autobiography and literary criticism in a way familiar to readers of Free Woman, her book about Doris Lessing.Feigel was joined in conversation about Lawrence and her own rediscovery of him with author Lauren Elkin.Buy a copy of Look! We Have Come Through!: https://lrb.me/lawrencefeigelFind upcoming events at the Bookshop website: https://lrb.me/eventspod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Richard Dunn joins Alex and Lucy to discuss how humanity began to measure the world around it; and Lauren Elkin illuminates the immense artistic contribution of Annie Ernaux, this winner of this year's Nobel Prize in Literature.‘Beyond Measure: The Hidden History of Measurement' by James VincentThe work of Annie Ernaux, Nobel Prize laureate 2022Produced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
HDPE Tear TabsMainstreet Books DavidsonRadiolab LoopsNo. 91/92 by Lauren Elkin
The Inseparables is a novel that was never published in Simone de Beauvoir's lifetime. The story goes she showed it to Jean-Paul Sartre and he held his nose. It tells of the intense childhood friendship between Sylvie and Andrée, who were Beauvoir's fictional models for herself and her real-life friend Zaza Lacoin. The translation is by Lauren Elkin, author of Flâneuse, and the book comes with an introduction by Deborah Levy, and an afterword by Sylvie le bon de Beauvoir, plus a captivating selection of letters and photographs from the Beauvoir archive. For this episode Kate was joined by Australian books podcaster Anna Baillie-Karas, in town taking short break from her own podcast Books on the Go. The perfect excuse, then, to read and discuss this powerful short book. But what did we make of it? Should you add it to your reading pile? And would it be a good one for book club? Listen in and find out. Unusually for us this episode does contain spoilers, so if you don't know anything about Simone de Beauvoir and want to read this without any foreknowledge bookmark this show for later and come back to it when you've read the book. We also have four book recommendations inspired by The Inseparables we think you will love. BOOKLIST Petronille by Amélie Northomb, translated by Amelia Anderson At the Existentialist Café by Sarah Bakewell Last Summer in the City by Gianfrarnco Calligarich, translated by Howard Curtis Parisian Lives by Deidre Bair NOTES Don't miss the episode page on our website for full shownotes, a transcript and comments forum where you can let us know your thoughts on the episode or recommend us a book. Comments there go straight to our inboxes and we will read and respond so do drop us a line, we love to hear from you. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @bookclubreviewpodcast, on Twitter @bookclubrvwpod, or email us at thebookclubreview@gmail.com Listen to Lauren Elkin and Deborah Levy discuss The Inseparables for the London Review of Books Listen to the Literary Friction podcast episode Kate mentioned, with Lauren Elkin
Written in 1954 but unpublished until after her death, Simone de Beauvoir's The Inseparables is an intimate portrait, based on life, of female friendship on the cusp of womanhood. Its translator into English Lauren Elkin writes in her introductory note ‘“So is it any good?” people have asked me when I've told them I'm translating a ‘lost' novel by Simone de Beauvoir … And I am relieved to say: yes. It is more than good. It is poignant, chilling and eviscerating.'Elkin, author of Flâneuse and No. 91/92: Notes on a Parisian Commute was in conversation with novelist and essayist Deborah Levy who has contributed an introduction to the UK edition. The event was chaired by Alice McCrum, programs manager at the American Library in Paris. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Five writers go on five reflective, restorative and often playful journeys in search of the final resting places of their literary heroes. Today Lauren Elkin finds Oscar Wilde in Pere Lachaise, Paris - where the outsider in life overshadows in death the greats of French literature who jostle for space in the famous cemetery. Producer: Ciaran Bermingham
Ralph Kiggell has been an important part of the international mokuhanga community for many years. Ralph takes many different elements of mokuhanga, the energy and exploration of an artist, to create some of the most dramatic and ambitious mokuhanga today. On this episode of The Unfinished Print I speak with mokuhanga printmaker Ralph Kiggel about his life in Thailand, using locally sourced materials for his mokuhanga from that country; we also speak on his artistic ambitions, his observations on the current state of the mokuhanga community, and what he would like to see as its future. Please follow The Unfinished Print and my own print work on Instagram @andrezadoroznyprints Twitter @unfinishedprint, or email me at theunfinishedprint@gmail.com Notes: may contain a hyperlink. Simply click on the highlighted word or phrase. Ralph Kiggell - website, Instagram, interview with Evil. O Japan and the West - Japan as a country has had an uneasy relationship with the "West." In many cases this relationship has focused solely with the United States. For a fine early description of this particular relationship please read The Making of Modern Japan, by Marius B. Jansen, and Empreror of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852-1912 by Donald Keene. ukiyo-e - is a multi colour woodblock print generally associated with the Edo Period (1603-1867) of Japan. What began in the 17th Century as prints of only a few colours, evolved into an elaborate system of production and technique into the Meiji Period (1868-1912). With the advent of photography and other forms of printmaking, ukiyo-e as we know it today, ceased production by the late 19th Century. Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606-1669) - was a Dutch painter, considered to be a part of the Dutch Golden Age of painting. He was notable for his self-portraits, landscape painting, and empathic painting. Serigraphy - is another word for the art of silk screen printing. Silk screen printing can be in on various materials, silk, canvas, paper, etc. Western Engagement with Mokuhanga - the connection with woodblock prints and the West, predominantly with the United States and Britain, began when the elite of both countries started collecting ukiyo-e. Collecting ukiyo-e was the fashion for wealthier patrons of the arts who saw the beautiful images from Japan and their “Oriental” aesthetic as worth collecting. By the start of the twentieth century ukiyo-e production had began to wane. It wasn't until Watanabe Shōzaburō (1885-1962) who worked in the woodblock print business, and who exported prints to the West to a foreign market, saw the benefit of focusing his business for foreign buyers. He established his publishing house in Tōkyō for making woodblock prints with high end techniques (almost lost at that point) and used the traditional hanmoto system of print production to facilitate the demand. This began a fruitful business which created a new generation of woodblock production and Japanese aesthetic. The two important types of woodblock print styles from this period are shin-hanga (new prints), and sōsaku-hanga (creative prints). shin-hanga - or, new prints, is a style of woodblock print production connected to the early twentieth century in Japan. Attributed to Watanabe Shōzaburō, and were created via the ukiyo-e, hanmoto system. Prints are produced through a hierarchy. This hierarchy is as follows: publisher commissions artist who designs the prints, professional woodblock carvers carve the prints, and professional printers print the prints. This collaboration system helped make shin-hanga into the collectable works we find today. They help to codify a romanticized Japanese aesthetic, for a Western audience. sōsaku-hanga - or creative prints, is a style of printmaking which is predominantly, although not exclusively, prints made by one person. It started in the early twentieth century in Japan, in the same period as the shin-hanga movement. The artist designs, carves, and prints their own works. The designs, especially in the early days, may seem rudimentary but the creation of self made prints was a breakthrough for printmakers beginning to move away from where only a select group of carvers, printers and publishers created woodblock prints. War prints & Japanese Imperialism - as Japan entered the Pacific Theatre of war (1941-1945) with the United States, the fascist military government had complete power in Japan at the time, and used woodblock prints, as well as other mediums such as lithography and photography, to propagandize their war effort. Printmakers such as Kawase Hasui (1883-1957) even got involved in producing prints that helped the war effort. He designed several war prints during this time period. Prints such as The Red Setting Sun, is a prime example of how the times and aesthetic show a relatively innocuous scene of figures (Japanese soldiers) riding on horses with a setting sun back drop. For more detailed information regarding war time prints I suggest, Conflicts of Interest: Art and War in Modern Japan, ed. Philip K. Hu w/ Rhiannon Paget, and The Politics of Painting by Asato Ikeda. My interview with Rhiannon Paget PhD can be found, here. The American Occupation and Woodblock Prints - the occupation of Japan occurred after the end of the Pacific theatre (1941-1945) and World War 2 (1939-1945). The Occupation of Japan was from 1945-1952. During this period of nation rebuilding, the Japanese print market as a post-war souvenir was very popular. The rapid growth of the woodblock print in the immediate post-war is attributed to several factors. Robert O. Muller (1911-2003) was an American collector who helped establish print connections with Japan and the United States. From owning the Shima Art Co. of New York City, to working with Shōzaburō in Tōkyō after the war, Robert O. Muller's contribution can be considered unprecedented in woodblock print history. Kōshirō Onchi (1891-1955) was another factor in the rise of woodblock prints during the Allied Occupation. His First Thursday Society, and with the help of his daughter who worked directly with the Supreme Commander of Allied Powers (SCAP), Onchi was able to spread the word on the creative prints project (sōsaku hanga) by making connections with important collectors in the American military government, as well as recruiting American artists, such as Ernst Hacker (1917-1987). For more information regarding the American Occupation of Japan and woodblock prints please read, Japanese Prints during the Allied Occupation 1945-1952, and Troubled Times and Beyond: Japanese Prints 1931-1960, published by Nihon no Hanga, Amsterdam. My interview with Maureen de Vries, curator of Nihon no Hanga, can be found, here. Evolving Techniques in Japanese Woodblock Prints - is a book published by Kodansha International in 1977. It was written by Canadian woodblock printer Gaston Petit, and Amadio Arboleda, who currently apprentices as a violin maker in Tōkyō. Tama Art University - is an arts university located in various campuses in Tōkyō. It has various departments such as Architecture, Product and Textile Design, and Art Studies. 入門 - "nyuumon" in the title of the book Ralph speaks about in our interview, where we discuss what the following kanji means. There are a few meanings for this particular kanji, but in regards to the book I believe it to mean, "beginning training." 水生 - "suisei" is a Japanese word meaning, "water based." 刷物 - "surimono" is a Japanese word which means, literally, "printed thing." These were also privately commissioned prints made by wealthier clients for special occasions. These prints usually were extremely extravagant, using high-end techniques and pigments. I could not in my research find whether or not "surimono" was used more colloquially, rather than "ukiyo-e." kentō - is the registration system used by printmakers in order to line up the colour woodblocks with your key block, or outline block, carved first. Wood Like Matsumura - is an online and brick and mortar store, for woodblock printmaking, located in Nerima City, Tōkyō. website. Will Francis - is a British mokuhanga printmaker who works predominantly for American graphic designer Jed Henry, and Mokuhankan. shina - is a type of Japanese plywood used in mokuhanga. jigsaw cutting - Ralph uses various methods when making his mokuhanga. One such method is jigsaw cutting, where the blocks are cut and those cuts are used to make prints. In this video, Ralph explains his process on making his prints. Akira Kurosaki 黒崎彰 (1937-2019) - one of the most influential woodblock print artists of the modern era. His work, while seemingly abstract, moved people with its vibrant colour and powerful composition. He was a teacher and invented the “Disc Baren,” which is a great baren to begin your mokuhanga journey with. At the 2021 Mokuhanga Conference in Nara, Japan there was a tribute exhibit of his life works. Azusa Gallery has a nice selection of his work, here. Munakata Shikō 志功棟方 (1903-1975) arguably one of the most famous modern printmakers, Shiko is famous for his prints of women, animals, the supernatural, and Buddhist deities. He made his prints with an esoteric fervour where his philosophies about mokuhanga were just as interesting as his print work. flâneur - is a French word, meaning idler, walker of streets, a way to see a city, to understand it. The freedom to walk a city is a type of freedom that allows someone to truly understand where they are. While almost always written in French literature [(Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867)], for men there has been a question about why women haven't been associated with the word. Lauren Elkin, an American writer in Paris, tries to understand why women aren't associated with the term. The CBC podcast, IDEAS, interviewed her and it was a great way to understand what makes a flâneur, or flâneuse. You can find it, here. Alex Kerr and Lost Japan - Alex Kerr is an American Japanologist who lives and works in Japan. He has written many books on Japan, but is famous for Lost Japan, published in 1993. It describes the modernity of Japan, and what is destroyed when searching for that modernity. Meiji-jingu (明治神宮) - is a large parkland area near the Harajuku neighbouhood of Tōkyō. It is dedicated to Emperor Meiji (Prince Mutsuhito - [1867-1912]). It is open 365 days of the year and is especially busy during the New Years celebrations. Black Ships - are associated with the American naval commodore, Matthew C. Perry (1794-1858). The United States wanted to open trading with Japan, who had been in self-imposed isolation with the West since 1635. Matthew C. Perry essentially bullied his way into the conversation of trade with Japan and these "Black Ships" he arrived on, became a symbol of this moment. Frank Lloyd Wright and the Imperial Hotel - (1867-1959) FLW was an American architect who designed many different buildings in Japan since his first visit in 1905. The Imperial Hotel was located in Tōkyō in the Hibiya district. It was moved to, and reconstructed in 1968 at the Meiji-mura Museum Village in Aichi Prefecture. It was built in the Mayan Revival style. I got a chance to visit it in Aichi and it's pretty spectacular, and smaller than I thought it would be. The Imperial Hotel still exists today. Kozo paper - is a long fibered mulberry paper used for mokuhanga and cloth making. It is produced in Japan, Thailand, and South America. Lampang, Thailand - located in Northern Thailand and is a trading city with tourism, and farming. Yoshida Family of Artists - The Yoshida's are one of the most famous family of artists from Japan. Begun with painter Yoshida Kasaburō (1861-1894), made famous by Yoshida Hiroshi (1876-1950) and his work with woodblock printing. The Yoshida family has helped shape many artists around the world. More info from the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum, here. Yoshida Hiroshi (1876-1950) - a watercolorist, oil painter, and woodblock printmaker. Is associated with the resurgence of the woodblock print in Japan, and in the West. It was his early relationship with Watanabe Shōzaburō, having his first seven prints printed by the Shōzaburō atelier, that made Hiroshi believe that he could hire his own carvers and printers and produce woodblock prints, which he did in 1925. Yoshida Tōshi (1911-1995) - eldest son of Hiroshi Yoshida. Having been affected by polio, and the pressure of continuing his fathers legacy, Tōshi Yoshida made prints and paintings which gradually became expressive, avant garde and abstract. Later in life he focused on birds and mammals. Yoshida Hodaka (1926-1995) - the second son of Hiroshi Yoshida, Hodaka Yoshida seemed to be a bit of the black sheep of the Yoshida family. His desire to become an artist was against his fathers wishes, and his work was an extreme departure from what his father had produced as well as his older brother. Inspired by western artists such as Henri Matisse (1869-1954), and Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), Hodaka began to move away from painting to woodblock prints in the 1950's. Hodaka travelled (the Yoshida family were constant travellers) and was constantly inspired by the world. This was reflected in his woodblock prints and woodblock/photo etching prints. Yoshida Tsukasa (b.1949) - is the son of Tōshi Yoshida. He is a woodblock printmaker focusing on themes of nature and especially the moon. Bangkok Art Biennale - is an art biennale located in Bangkok, Thailand. It was founded in 2018, and was created for visitors to immerse themselves in Thai culture through various arts installations and shows. The 2022/23 biennale will be from October 22, 2022 - February 23, 2023. (IG) Province of Manitoba, Canada - joined Confederation in 1870, and is known for its natural beauty and vast landscapes. The capital is Winnipeg. Province of Saskatchewan, Canada - joined Confederation in 1905, and is known for its vast fields and flat land. Its capital is Regina. April Vollmer - is an established artist who works predominantly in mokuhanga. Her book Japanese Woodblock Print Workshop is one of the authoritative books on the subject and has influenced many up and coming mokuhanga artists. Natasha Norman - is an artist based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Here mediums are mokuhanga, mokulito, monotype, and paintings. My interview with Natasha Norman can be found, here. MDF - Medium-density fibreboard is a board made of discarded wood fibres and bonded together by wax and resin, which makes it bad for you if you carve it. opening and closing credit music - Spadina Sounds as told by the walkway which had a moving sidewalk. Here are some of the sources used for the above notes: LIPSHULTZ, SANDRA LAWALL. A Japanese Legacy Four Generations of Yoshida Family Artists. Laura W. Allen, Kendall H. Brown, Eugene M. Skibbe, Matthew Welch, Yasunaga Koichi. Held at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts from FEBR. 2 to April 14, 2002. Chicago, Ill: Art Media Resources, 2002. MARTIN, KATHERINE. Highlights of Japanese Printmaking: Part Two - Shin Hanga. Scholten Japanese Art, 2006. DE VRIES, MAUREEN, Chris Uhlenbeck, and Elise Wessels. Troubled Times and Beyond: Japanese Prints 1931-1960. Nihon no Hanga, 2013. © Popular Wheat Productions logo designed and produced by Douglas Batchelor and André Zadorozny Disclaimer: Please do not reproduce or use anything from this podcast without shooting me an email and getting my express written or verbal consent. I'm friendly :) Слава Україну If you find any issue with something in the show notes please let me know. ***The opinions expressed by guests in The Unfinished Print podcast are not necessarily those of André Zadorozny and of Popular Wheat Productions.***
Who gets to decide what a 'classic' is? And how and why do some books get reintroduced to us years after they were first published? This month we're continuing a conversation we started four years ago with Jennifer Hodgson and Nell Dunn about literary rediscoveries, with our guest, author and translator Lauren Elkin. Lauren joined us to talk about her translation of The Inseparables, a newly discovered novel by the influential philosopher and novelist Simone de Beavouir. Just published in English by Vintage, it tells the story of the intense friendship between two schoolgirls in turn of the century Paris. Listen in for some fascinating insight into the translation process and Simone de Beauvoir's life, plus all the usual recommendations. Recommendations on the theme, Rediscovery: Octavia: Nevada by Imogen Binnie Carrie: Maud Martha by Gwendolyn Brooks General Recommendations: Octavia: Home is Where We Start From: Essays by a Psychoanalyst by D. W. Winnicott Lauren: Translating Myself and Others by Jhumpa Lahiri Carrie: The Promise by Damon Galgut Find a list of all recommended books at: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/may-2022-rediscovery-with-lauren-elkin Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/litfriction Email us: litfriction@gmail.com Tweet us & find us on Instagram: @litfriction This episode is sponsored by Picador: https://www.panmacmillan.com/picador
The flâneur is the quintessentially masculine figure of privilege and leisure who strides the capitals of the world with abandon. But it is the flâneuse that captures the imagination of cultural critic Lauren Elkin. IDEAS takes you on a walk through the streets of Paris with the author.
Friends of Shakespeare and Company read Ulysses by James Joyce
Pages 211 - 217 │Lestrygonians, part IV│Read by Lauren ElkinLauren Elkin is the author of No. 91/92: Notes on a Parisian Commute (Semiotext(e)/Les Fugitives) and Flâneuse: Women Walk the City (Chatto), which was a New York Times Notable Book of 2017, a Radio 4 Book of the Week, and a finalist for the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay. She is also the UK translator of Simone de Beauvoir's recently discovered novel The Inseparables. As a former theatre nerd she is delighted for the chance to chew up some Joycean scenery, even if there actually isn't any because this is an audio book.Buy No. 91/92: Notes on a Parisian Commute: https://shakespeareandcompany.com/I/9781838014186/no-9192-notes-on-a-parisian-commutewww.laurenelkin.comFollow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/laurenelkinFollow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauren_elkin_*Looking for our author interview podcast? Listen here: https://podfollow.com/shakespeare-and-companySUBSCRIBE NOW FOR EARLY EPISODES AND BONUS FEATURESAll episodes of our Ulysses podcast are free and available to everyone. However, if you want to be the first to hear the recordings, by subscribing, you can now get early access to recordings of complete sections.Subscribe on Apple Podcasts here: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/channel/shakespeare-and-company/id6442697026Subscribe on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/sandcoIn addition a subscription gets you access to regular bonus episodes of our author interview podcast. All money raised goes to supporting “Friends of Shakespeare and Company” the bookshop's non-profit.*Discover more about Shakespeare and Company here: https://shakespeareandcompany.comBuy the Penguin Classics official partner edition of Ulysses here: https://shakespeareandcompany.com/d/9780241552636/ulyssesFind out more about Hay Festival here: https://www.hayfestival.com/homeAdam Biles is Literary Director at Shakespeare and Company. Find out more about him here: https://www.adambiles.netBuy a signed copy of his novel FEEDING TIME here: https://shakespeareandcompany.com/S/9781910296684/feeding-timeDr. Lex Paulson is Executive Director of the School of Collective Intelligence at Université Mohammed VI Polytechnique in Morocco.Original music & sound design by Alex Freiman.Hear more from Alex Freiman here: https://open.spotify.com/album/4gfkDcG32HYlXnBqI0xgQX?si=mf0Vw-kuRS-ai15aL9kLNA&dl_branch=1Follow Alex Freiman on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/alex.guitarfreiman/Featuring Flora Hibberd on vocals.Hear more of Flora Hibberd here: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5EFG7rqfVfdyaXiRZbRkpSVisit Flora Hibberd's website: This is my website:florahibberd.com and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/florahibberd/ Music production by Adrien Chicot.Hear more from Adrien Chicot here: https://bbact.lnk.to/utco90/Follow Adrien Chicot on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/adrienchicot/Photo of Lauren Elkin by Marianne Katser See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Name: Janice Reading: Flâneuse: Women Walk the City in Paris, New York, Tokyo, Venice, and London, Lauren Elkin Why did you want to read this? Walking the city was one of, if not most, crucial experiences of my formative years. Like Elkin, I discovered the concept of flâneur during my undergrad and explored in my own ways academically if there was/is, and thus what was/is the flâneuse, a woman who flâner. Could that flâneuse be an East Asian one? I will never forget the excitement, liberation and transhistorical connection I felt reading this first chapter when the book was freshly released. How did you record yourself? I recorded myself sitting on the sofa in my living room after a little walk along my local New River Path.
Some podcasts only talk the talk, but David and Ellie walk the walk (or talk the walk?) in episode 43 by diving into the philosophy of walking. Walking is a complex sociocultural practice that raises fascinating questions about history, power, and freedom. Why did our ancestors transition from walking on all fours to walking on two legs, and how did this shape our evolution as a species? Why have so many philosophers throughout history (from Aristotle to Rousseau) insisted on incorporating walks into their daily routines? And how do systems of oppression—such as classism, racism, sexism, transphobia, and ableism—mold our experience of walking, determining where and even how we can walk?*correction: when Ellie says "James DeSilva," she meant "Jeremy DeSilva"! Our apologies to the author of First Steps. Works Discussed Charles Baudelaire, “The Painter of Modern Life” Frédéric Gros, A Philosophy of Walking Gayle Salamon, The Life and Death of Latisha King: A Critical Phenomenology of TransphobiaJane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American CitiesJennifer McDuff and Alison Phinney, "Walking With Meaning: Subjective Experiences of Physical Activity in Dementia"Jeremy DeSilva, First Steps: How Upright Walking Made us Human Jo Livingstone and Lovia Gyarkye, "Death to the Flâneur"Lauren Elkin, Flâneuse: Women Walk the City in Paris, New York, Tokyo, Venice and London Marily Oppezzo and Daniel L. Schwartz, "Give Your Ideas Some Legs: The Positive Effect of Walking on Creative Thinking"Michel de Certeau, "Walking in the City" Quill R. Kukla, "City Spaces, Pace Bias, and the Production of Disability"Website | overthinkpodcast.comInstagram & Twitter | @overthink_podEmail | Dearoverthink@gmail.comYouTube | Overthink podcast
For our first podcast of 2022 we leave the bookshop and take to the buses of Paris for a conversation with Lauren Elkin, author of No. 91/92: notes on a Parisian commute.Buy No. 91/92: notes on a Parisian commute here: https://shakespeareandcompany.com/I/9781838014186/no-9192-notes-on-a-parisian-commute*SUBSCRIBE NOW FOR BONUS FEATURESIf you want to spend even more time at Shakespeare and Company, you can now subscribe for regular bonus episodes including: An initiation into the world of rare book collecting; The chance to expand your reading horizons as our passionate booksellers recommend their favourite titles; Handpicked classic interviews from our archive; And an insight into what makes your favourite writers tick as they answer searching questions from our Café's Proust questionnaire.Subscribe on Spotify here: https://anchor.fm/sandcoSubscribe on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/sandcoSubscribe on Apple Podcasts here: https://podcasts.apple.com/fr/podcast/shakespeare-and-company-writers-books-and-paris/id1040121937?l=enAll money raised goes to supporting “Friends of Shakespeare and Company” the bookshop's non-profit, created to fund our noncommercial activities—from the upstairs reading library, to the writers-in-residence program, to our charitable collaborations, and our free events.*Commuting between English and French, Lauren Elkin chronicles a life in transit. From musings on Virginia Woolf and Georges Perec, to her first impressions in the aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo attacks, to the discovery of her ectopic pregnancy, her diary sketches a portrait of the author, not as an artist, but as a pregnant woman on a Parisian bus. In the troubling intimacy of public transport, Elkin queries the lines between togetherness and being apart, between the everyday and the eventful, registering the ordinary makings of a city and its people.Lauren Elkin is a Franco-American writer and translator. Her last book, Flâneuse: Women Walk the City was a finalist for the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay, a New York Times Notable Book of 2017, and a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week. Her translation, with Charlotte Mandell, of Claude Arnaud's biography of Jean Cocteau, won the 2017 French-American Foundation's Translation Prize. Her next book, Art Monsters: on Beauty and Excess, is to be published by Chatto & Windus. She currently lives in London, with her partner and son.Adam Biles is Literary Director at Shakespeare and Company. Buy a signed copy of his novel FEEDING TIME here: https://shakespeareandcompany.com/S/9781910296684/feeding-timeListen to Alex Freiman's Play It Gentle here: https://open.spotify.com/album/4gfkDcG32HYlXnBqI0xgQX?si=mf0Vw-kuRS-ai15aL9kLNA&dl_branch=1 Get bonus content on Patreon See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Ian McMillan explores diaries and writing inspired by day-to-day life with Michael Rosen, whose book 'Many Different Kinds of Love' recounts his experiences in hospital with coronavirus and features extracts from the diaries of his nurses, doctors and wife, Lauren Elkin, whose book 'No. 91/92: notes on a Parisian commute' consists entirely of notes made in her smartphone, and Christopher Green, whose immersive digital project The Home evokes day-to-day life in care homes in the UK and Japan. Plus poet Suna Afshan on her translations for the Tape Letters project - uncovering the Pothwari audio messages sent home on cassette by Pakistanis who migrated and settled in the UK in the 60s and 70s. Producer: Ruth Thomson
Simone de Beauvoir's lost novella The Inseparables was once deemed “too intimate” to publish. Newly found, it's been released to great critical acclaim and we have Lauren Elkin, the translator of the UK Penguin Random House edition, with us to discuss the book and its fascinating author.
Kick-starting second-wave feminism with her 1949 book The Second Sex, Simone de Beauvoir was a key member of the Parisian circle of Existentialists alongside Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus and Maurice Merleau-Ponty. Her philosophical influences include Descartes and Bergson, phenomenology via Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger, the assessment of society put forward by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, and ideas about idealism from Immanuel Kant and GWF Hegel. Shahidha Bari and her guests consider her role in contemporary philosophy and Lauren Elkin describes translating a newly discovered novel The Inseparables. Kathryn Belle is Associate Professor of Philosophy, Pennsylvania State University Skye Cleary is Lecturer, Barnard College Lauren Elkin is a Writer and translator of Simone de Beauvoir's The Inseparables, which follows two friends growing up and falling apart. Kate Kirkpatrick is Fellow in Philosophy and Christian Ethics, Regent's Park College, University of Oxford Recorded in partnership with LSE Forum for Philosophy. You can find a playlist of Free Thinking discussions about philosophy on the programme website https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p07x0twx You can find a Radio 3 Sunday Feature hearing from some of our guests and archive of Simone de Beauvoir called Afterwords: Simone de Beauvoir https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0011m4h Producer: Luke Mulhall
In Flâneuse Lauren Elkin celebrated the woman walker in the city, revealing how aimlessly wandering through New York, Tokyo, Venice – but most of all Paris – invigorates the soul and focuses the mind. In her latest book No. 91/92 (Les Fugitives) she joins the commuter crowds on the bus with a love letter to Paris written in iPhone notes. From musings on Virginia Woolf and Georges Perec, to her first impressions in the aftermath of the 2015 terrorist attacks, her diary queries the lines between togetherness and being apart, between the everyday and the eventful, as she registers the ordinary makings of a city and its people.She talks about her travels through the city, literature, the mind and the human body with novelist, playwright and essayist Deborah Levy. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
TW: In our discussion with Lauren Elkin, we mention sexual harassment, violence against women, and rape, as well as the ongoing case regarding the abduction, rape, and murder of Sarah Everard. How does someone make space for themselves? How does someone find freedom? It is hard, to know your place and to ask for it. It's even harder for people who do not belong to sexual, gender, race majority. In the case of women, it's been long proven how the world is not built for them. How cities are not a safe and welcoming place. Just this week, we are waiting for the verdict on the abudction, rape and murder of Sarah Everard, which happened last March, and which sparked a timid reflexion on masculinity in space and how we need to rethink gender dynamics in public space. Maybe surprisingly, there is a long history of women using gardening and horticulture to build their own space. Maybe making space for oneself, can be just finding a way to carve time to build and grow something. Today, in the Women Shaping the World podcast, we speak to two authors, Alice Vincent and Lauren Elkin, about literally shaping the world. Lauren Elkin discusses her books and work on urban women and “flaneuses”. Alice Vincent tells us about her book, Rootbound, where she candidly discusses her heartbreak and how gardening and relinking with nature helped her move forward. Ressources: Sexual Abuse Support - https://sexualabusesupport.campaign.gov.uk Rape Crisis -https://rapecrisis.org.uk Reclaim these Streets - https://reclaimthesestreets.com
TW: In our discussion with Lauren Elkin, we mention sexual harassment, violence against women, and rape, as well as the ongoing case regarding the abduction, rape, and murder of Sarah Everard. How does someone make space for themselves? How does someone find freedom? It is hard, to know your place and to ask for it. It's even harder for people who do not belong to sexual, gender, race majority. In the case of women, it's been long proven how the world is not built for them. How cities are not a safe and welcoming place. Just this week, we are waiting for the verdict on the abudction, rape and murder of Sarah Everard, which happened last March, and which sparked a timid reflexion on masculinity in space and how we need to rethink gender dynamics in public space. Maybe surprisingly, there is a long history of women using gardening and horticulture to build their own space. Maybe making space for oneself, can be just finding a way to carve time to build and grow something. Today, in the Women Shaping the World podcast, we speak to two authors, Alice Vincent and Lauren Elkin, about literally shaping the world. Lauren Elkin discusses her books and work on urban women and “flaneuses”. Alice Vincent tells us about her book, Rootbound, where she candidly discusses her heartbreak and how gardening and relinking with nature helped her move forward. Ressources: Sexual Abuse Support - https://sexualabusesupport.campaign.gov.uk Rape Crisis -https://rapecrisis.org.uk Reclaim these Streets - https://reclaimthesestreets.com
Described by Claire Louise Bennett as ‘lithe and ambitious' and by Toby Litt as ‘a miracle in book form', Isobel Wohl's debut Cold New Climate (Weatherglass) is likely to be one of the most talked about novels of 2021. Encompassing the limits and expectations of love, life and family and the devastation and elation each of those can bring, and our fears for a future that is disappearing as we speed towards it, it's a book that's vibrantly conscious of the modern world, and slyly conscious of the tradition it's coming from. Isobel Wohl was in conversation with Lauren Elkin, a fellow New Yorker, and author of Flaneuse. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Writer and scholar Lauren Elkin describes the very particular grey of a rainy Paris in the time of year that the French revolutionary government called Pluviôse, the month of rain. She talks about the way a particular quality of grey sheen was captured by the French Impressionists, and with it a sense of melancholy. It's a vision that recurs in art and film, from Gustave Caillebotte's 1877 Paris Street, Rainy Day, to the recent Christophe Honore film, Les Chansons d'Amour. Elkin describes the latter as appearing to have been shot through a very realistic grey-green "Paris in the rain" filter, which gives it a power and mood rooted in its setting.
Teaching writing - mentors Helen Mort and Blake Morrison compare notes. Plus as Georges Perec's memoir I Remember is published in English for the first time, we look at the rules of writing proposed by the Oulipo group which was founded in 1960 by Raymond Queneau and François Le Lionnais. Georges Perec (1936 – 1982) came up with a "story-making machine" and created a novel in which the letter 'e' never appears. Queneau's Exercices de Style recounts a bus journey ninety-nine times. Shahidha Bari talks to Adam Scovell and Lauren Elkin about Oulipo. Helen Mort's books include poetry collections Division Street and No Map Could Show Them and a debut novel Black Car Burning and she is a Senior Lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University https://www.helenmort.com/ Blake Morrison's books include poetry collections Dark Glasses and Pendle Witches, And When Did You Last See Your Father? which won the JR Ackerley Prize for Autobiography and a study of the murder of James Bulger, As If. He is Professor of Creative and Life Writing at Goldsmiths College, University of London. http://www.blakemorrison.net/ Their conversation is part of the series Critical Friends organised in partnership with the Royal Society of Literature https://rsliterature.org/ You can find more writerly conversations in the Free Thinking playlist Prose and Poetry https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p047v6vh Adam Scovell is the author of novellas including How Pale the Winter Has Made Us and Mothlight Lauren Elkin is the author of The End of Oulipo? An Attempt to Exhaust a Movement and Flâneuse: Women Walk the City in Paris, New York, Tokyo, Venice, and London George Perec's I Remember translated into English by David Bellos and Philip Terry has just been published by Editions Gallic. Producer: Ruth Watts
More than ever as we gradually emerge from lockdown we find ourselves appreciating the natural world and the joys of walking. The perfect time then to revisit our interview with Emily's Walking Book Club to hear about the inherent pleasures of walking and talking about books. And picking up on the theme we have some handpicked recommendations for you, perfect for topping up your TBR pile. From past-podcast favourites such as Peter Matthiessen's Snow Leopard to new release The Well Gardened Mind by Sue Stuart-Smith, we found walking and the natural world an easy fit when it came to recommendations. Laura has a theory that all readers like walking, and walkers like reading. But is she right? Or maybe like Kate you try to do both at the same time. Listen in to hear all about it. For more information about Emily's walking book club including what's coming up and how to book tickets, check out Emily's website emilyrhodeswriter.com Books mentioned by Emily: The True Deceiver by Tove Jansson, West with the Night by Beryl Markham, Westwood by Stella Gibbons, All Passion Spent by Vita Sackville-West, The Living Mountain by Nan Shepherd, As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning by Laurie Lee, Someone at a Distance by Dorothy Whipple, Beware of Pity by Stefan Zweig, and Brodeck's Report by Philippe Claudel. Kate and Laura's recommendations: The Salt Path by Raynor Wynn, The Gift by Alison Croggon, The Snow Leopard by Peter Matthiessen, The Old Ways by Robert Macfarlane, Flâneuse: Women Walk the City by Lauren Elkin, and The Well-Gardened Mind by Sue Stuart-Smith. Follow us on Instagram or Facebook @BookClubReview podcast, on Twitter @bookclubrvwpod or drop us a line at thebookclubreview@gmail.com. And if you're not already, do subscribe to us on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
There is a sort of chase for coherence in the current commercial market for fiction ... a sort of terror of there being any kind of mystery in a book, or even a character being confused.Deborah Levy, described by Lauren Elkin in the TLS as ' one of the most exciting voices in contemporary British fiction' was at the Bookshop to talk about her latest novel Hot Milk (Hamish Hamilton), which explores the strange and monstrous nature of motherhood.“A bright broth of myth, psychology, Freudian symbolism and contemporary anxiety.” – Guardian See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Are we English, British, European, citizens of the planet Earth or none of the above? The ‘Citizens of Everywhere’ project invites writers, artists and journalists to respond to the seismic shifts in European and American politics, and their implications for the future, in ways that are creative, surprising, and, most importantly of all, useful. Baroness Shami Chakrabarti, Labour peer and former director of Liberty, novelist Tom McCarthy and campaigner Eloise Todd were at the shop to debate the future of citizenship in Britain, Europe and beyond. Lauren Elkin, author of Flaneuse and co -director of the Centre for New and International Writing at the University of Liverpool, was in the chair. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Riffing on Permission, Saskia Vogel's debut novel about love, loss, BDSM and the roles women play in the patriarchy, authors Lauren Elkin (Flâneuse, the forthcoming Art Monsters) and Stephanie La Cava (the forthcoming The Superrationals) joined Vogel for readings and conversation that explored the spaces women are relegated to and those they carve out for themselves, sexual expectations and transgressions, and the current landscape of art and literature from the perspective of three writers who explore the balance of power between the genders.
After moving from Cologne, Germany, to New York City, our producer Thomas Reintjes had trouble adjusting to walking in the bustling metropolis. Traffic, crowds and high-rise buildings made it difficult for him to get away from everything. By sharing their personal experiences, the writers Lauren Elkin and Garnette Cadogan teach him how to walk in New York City.
Lauren Elkin, Lisa Appignanesi and biographer Ben Moser debate Susan Sontag's life and ideas with presenter Laurence Scott, focusing in on her 1966 essay collection, which argued for a new way of approaching art and culture. Ben Moser is the author of Sontag: Her life and work which is out now. Lauren Elkin teaches at the University of Liverpool and is the author of Flâneuse: Women Walk the City. She is researching Sontag's time in Sarajevo in 1993 when she staged Waiting for Godot during the Siege following the declaration of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s independence from Yugoslavia. Lisa Appignanesi is a Visiting Professor in the Department of English at King's College London and Chair of the Royal Society of Literature Council . Her books include Everday Madness, Simone De Beauvoir, Freud's Women. You can hear more from Lisa including her BBC Radio 3 interview with Susan Sontag if you search for the Sunday Feature Afterwords: Susan Sontag https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m00022p1 Producer: Luke Mulhall
Taking a different approach in this Sidenote, Ted takes you along his Parisian stationery excursion. With a reprieve from Paris through the kids-eye view, he takes inspiration from Flaneuse by Lauren Elkin, bouncing from the delightful Papier Tigre to the chic Papier Plus and the venerable Melodies Graphiques. Enjoy something a little different from Take Note, and let us know what you think and what else you’d find interesting.
Katherine Angel’s Daddy Issues engages with what Lauren Elkin has called ‘that forgotten figure in feminism’s critique of patriarchy: the father’, examining the place of fathers in contemporary culture and asking how the mixture of love and hatred we feel towards our fathers can be turned into a relationship that is generative rather than destructive. If we are to effectively dismantle patriarchy, Angel argues, it is vital that fathers are kept on the hook. Angel was in conversation with Sarah Moss, whose sixth novel Ghost Wall was longlisted for the Women’s Prize 2019. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
This is a repeat – sorry gang, I’ve been horrendously busy.But, there are quite a lot of episodes of this thing now. And as the audience has grown, that means a lot of you haven’t heard our early work. So, to plug the gap, here’s an example of it. What follows is the original blurb, from August 2016.On this week's podcast, we're talking gender. Which of course is not actually the same as sex – the former is social, the latter biological – but until such time as HBO makes a hit sitcom called “Gender and the City”, this is our title and we're sticking to it. Anyway. This week's guests: Caroline Criado-Perez is the writer, journalist and feminist campaigner, who wrote a fantastic feature for us on why cities need to take women into account when planning. She gives us a whistlestop tour of her findings, from playgrounds in Vienna to toilets in Mumbai. Lauren Elkin is the author of "Flaneuse: Women Walk the City in Paris, New York, Tokyo, Venice and London", recently serialised on BBC Radio 4. She tells Stephanie about the origins of the book, and why walking can be a radical act. Sarah Coughlan and Marissa Santikarn are two-thirds of the Berlinials podcast. They tell us about the joys and hassles of ex-pat Berlin. Lastly, Stephanie and I discuss how her experiences of London differ from mine (most notably: I get cat-called surprisingly rarely). And we talk about how cities could be made more welcoming for women. Skylines is the podcast from CityMetric, the New Statesman cities site. It's presented by Jonn Elledge and Stephanie Boland, and is a Roifield Brown production. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Lauren Elkin, author of 'Flaneuse' and BBC Radio 3 New Generation Thinker Seán Williams talk to Rana Mitter about the joys of a wandering life and the inspiration that walking brought to writers from the 18th century to the present day.Producer: Zahid Warley
I interviewed Lauren Elkin about her new book Flâneuse: Women Walk the City in Paris, New York, Tokyo, Venice, and London at her apartment in the Belleville neighbourhood of Paris. Stepping off a rather ordinary, noisy street through a large pair of solid French (!) doors, I encountered a lovely, quiet, tree-lined pathway/courtyard en route to "an airy, comfortable writer's home, filled with books, art, plants, and even a piano." To start with, Elkin suggests that the flâneur is "the quintessentially masculine figure of privilege and leisure who strides the capitals of the world with abandon," and that the fl neuse is a “determined, resourceful individual keenly attuned to the creative potential of the city and the liberating possibilities of a good walk.” Virginia Woolf called it “street haunting”; Holly Golightly epitomized it in Breakfast at Tiffany's; and Patti Smith did it in her own inimitable style in 1970s New York." Nonetheless since the flâneur has not, historically, been a very precisely drawn male character, we should be free, says Elkin, to define the flâneuse as we see fit, not as a female equivalent, but as an entity unto herself.
Five writers consider the pleasures of viewing a phenomenon or social activity closely:Lauren Elkin reckons that the way people walk, their gait, is a signifier. It also tells us something about ourselves as we watch people file past us, the quick and the slow. And it makes her think of George Sand strolling Paris.Producer Duncan Minshull
Rana Mitter talks Victorian bodies with Kathryn Hughes from Darwin's beard to whether George Eliot had milkmaid's hands. Stanley Price explains how James Joyce and Italo Svevo forged a firm friendship when they met in Trieste. Poet and New Generation Thinker Sandeep Parmar and writer Lauren Elkin discuss the Citizens of Everywhere art project which will see commissioned writing, art, workshops in schools and debates exploring the idea of citizenship in a globalised world. James Rivington from the British Academy unveils the 20 Academic Books that Shaped Modern Britain ahead of Academic Book Week.Kathryn Hughes latest book is called Victorians Undone.Stanley Price has written James Joyce and Italo Svevo: The Story of a FriendshipProducer: Torquil MacLeod.
We were joined by Nadja Spiegelman who discussed her compelling memoir I'm Supposed to Protect You from All This with author and critic Lauren Elkin.
By nature we are innately curious as human beings. Exploration is in our genes. And what better world to explore than our own cities, beckoning us from the doorstep? In literature there seems to be an absence of women 'wandering' the streets as contemplative observers. At the very mention of women wandering the streets did it paint a negative picture in your mind? Why is that? We discuss this and more in this week's episode. Our discussion stems from a book featured in The Guardian called Flaneuse: Women Walk the City by Lauren Elkin. To all the other flaneuses out there! Enjoy! Presented by Kate Mulholland, Cathy Clarke and Máire Brophy. This episode was produced by Kate Mulholland.
Where better than Paris to celebrate Lauren Elkin’s superb Flâneuse? Pull on your mental walking boots and prepare yourself for an intellectual stroll like no other.
On this week's podcast, we're talking gender. Which of course is not actually the same as sex – the former is social, the latter biological – but until such time as HBO makes a hit sitcom called “Gender and the City”, this is our title and we're sticking to it. Anyway. This week's guests: Caroline Criado-Perez is the writer, journalist and feminist campaigner, who wrote a fantastic feature for us on why cities need to take women into account when planning. She gives us a whistlestop tour of her findings, from playgrounds in Vienna to toilets in Mumbai. Lauren Elkin is the author of "Flaneuse: Women Walk the City in Paris, New York, Tokyo, Venice and London", recently serialised on BBC Radio 4. She tells Stephanie about the origins of the book, and why walking can be a radical act. Sarah Coughlan and Marissa Santikarn are two-thirds of the Berlinials podcast. They tell us about the joys and hassles of ex-pat Berlin. Lastly, Stephanie and I discuss how her experiences of London differ from mine (most... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
The flaneur – an almost invariably male idler dawdling through city streets with no apparent purpose in mind – is familiar to us from the works of Baudelaire, Benjamin and Edmund White. In a glorious blend of memoir, cultural history and psychogeography, Lauren Elkin investigates the little-considered female equivalent, from George Sand to Agnes Varda and Sophie Calle, leading us through the streets of London, Tokyo, Venice, New York and, of course, Paris. Lauren Elkin, a contributing editor at the White Review, discussed the phenomenon of the flaneuse, and her own walking life with Brian Dillon. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
We take a stroll through the streets of history and talk about women who wandered with author of Flâneuse, Lauren Elkin, and enjoy some great literary lyrics from the Bookshop Band
What better way to talk about Flâneuse than to walk the streets of London with author Lauren Elkin. We stroll through Bloomsbury to talk about Virginia Woolf and other female walkers of the city as we discuss the themes behind her fascinating book. 'Flâneuse [flanne-euhze], noun, from the French. Feminine form of flâneur [flanne-euhr], an idler, a dawdling observer, usually found in cities. That is an imaginary definition.' If the word flâneur conjures up visions of Baudelaire, boulevards and bohemia – then what exactly is a flâneuse? In this gloriously provocative and celebratory book, Lauren Elkin defines her as ‘a determined resourceful woman keenly attuned to the creative potential of the city, and the liberating possibilities of a good walk’. Part cultural meander, part memoir, Flâneuse traces the relationship between the city and creativity through a journey that begins in New York and moves us to Paris, via Venice, Tokyo and London, exploring along the way the paths taken by the flâneuses who have lived and walked in those cities. From nineteenth-century novelist George Sand to artist Sophie Calle, from war correspondent Martha Gellhorn to film-maker Agnes Varda, Flâneuse considers what is at stake when a certain kind of light-footed woman encounters the city and changes her life, one step at a time. Read more at https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/1098499/flaneuse/#m7szjT6vgomZ68rS.99Follow us on twitter: twitter.com/vintagebooksSign up to our bookish newsletter to hear all about our new releases, see exclusive extracts and win prizes: po.st/vintagenewsletterLauren Elkin - Flâneuse'Flâneuse [flanne-euhze], noun, from the French. Feminine form of flâneur [flanne-euhr], an idler, a dawdling observer, usually found in cities.That is an imaginary definition.'If the word flâneur conjures up visions of Baudelaire, boulevards and bohemia – then what exactly is a flâneuse?In this gloriously provocative and celebratory book, Lauren Elkin defines her as ‘a determined resourceful woman keenly attuned to the creative potential of the city, and the liberating possibilities of a good walk’. Part cultural meander, part memoir, Flâneuse traces the relationship between the city and creativity through a journey that begins in New York and moves us to Paris, via Venice, Tokyo and London, exploring along the way the paths taken by the flâneuses who have lived and walked in those cities.From nineteenth-century novelist George Sand to artist Sophie Calle, from war correspondent Martha Gellhorn to film-maker Agnes Varda, Flâneuse considers what is at stake when a certain kind of light-footed woman encounters the city and changes her life, one step at a time. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
For this month's installment of the Art of Criticism we're delighted to welcome Edmund Gordon, lecturer in literature and creative writing at King's College London and a regular reviewer for a variety of UK publications including the Sunday Times, the London Review of Books and the Times Literary Supplement. His authorised biography of Angela Carter will be published by Chatto & Windus in the UK, and Oxford University Press in the USA, this October. We'll be talking about the relationship between criticism and life-writing, and delving into the usual questions concerning the joys, and tribulations, of writing about other people's writing.
For this installment of the Art of Criticism we are delighted to welcome Dr. Jane Goldman. Poet, critic, and Reader in English Literature at the University of Glasgow, Jane Goldman is the author of a number of studies of Virginia Woolf and modernism (Cambridge UP), as well as a poetry pamphlet, Border Thoughts (Leamington Books).
We're delighted to welcome Joanna Walsh, who will be discussing her two recently published titles, Hotel (Bloomsbury) and Vertigo (Dorothy Project). This event will be chaired by writer and critic Lauren Elkin.
Writing the City: Jon Day, Lara Feigel, and Lauren Elkin by
The Art of Criticism: Juliet Jacques in conversation with Lauren Elkin by