The Paris Chapter: 19 - 25 Feb
A failure-celebration dinner, the nature of home, a book club in puzzle format, film talks, a new friend gathering, The Artist's Way, jazz, French pop, a talk on artistic errors and more.
In this edition:
BE - a question or quote to help you live deeper
GO - where to explore next
DELVE - a quick curation of online reads
DO - three Paris event recommendations for the week ahead
Additionally, for premium subscribersEXPAND - the full line-up of events (19 this week)
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BE
“I was waiting for something extraordinary to happen, but as the years wasted on, nothing ever did unless I caused it.”
— Charles Bukowski
GO
Each week, a place to pop into or base a little exploration around
Le Petit Marché (3e)
Place des Vosges can be tricky to find a good restaurant around - those tempted to sit on the square itself tend to be rewarded with tourist fare - but less than five minutes away lie a couple of classic French bistros with excellent menus.
You’ve likely heard of Chez Janou*; lesser known is their sister restaurant, Le Petit Marché - equally great, and much easier to secure a table at. The menu barely changes and I’m happy for it (I highly recommend the magret de canard).
* Book at least a day ahead if you want to get your hands on their famed chocolate mousse (they’ll shoo you away if you try to ask for take-away)
DELVE
The pieces that have stuck with me, from all I’ve read this week
Doing Things for the Sake of It by
“There’s a beautiful inefficiency to doing things for the sake of it. There’s a reverence for the process… isn’t doing things for the sake of it the same as doing things for the love of it? And isn’t love the point of everything?”
The Brain vs Heart Edition by Why is this interesting?
Art imitating life: “… the surface you paint on determines what you can achieve.”
Also: “Remember that you are on a journey. Don’t look at your paintings as individual masterpieces, putting that kind of pressure on yourself is creative suicide. Look at each piece as a stepping stone to the next painting.”
-
“It starts so young. This desire to eliminate the parts of ourselves that act out because they are hurt and have no tools to navigate the situation.”
DO
My goal is to help you have the richest, deepest possible experience of Paris and all its intellectual and artistic treasures.
Free subscribers receive my mini selection of events each week, with the full list available to premium members.
Tues 20
Writing Home, 7 - 9pm
Two of the UK’s most celebrated debut authors discuss the possibility - or impossibility - of home: from the homes we make in language to issues of exclusion, loss, and ephemerality.
(EN) Free, American Library (7e). Reservation requiredFri 23
Fail like a champ - carbs dinner, 8pm
“My friend, if you aren’t failing, you aren’t trying hard enough. On the other hand, failing sucks and there’s no way around it! ...Or is there? What if we tried washing it over with Italo disco, carbs, and wine?”
(EN) Free entry, Giorgio (11e). Reservation required
Sat 24
Salon International de l’Agriculture, through Mar 3
A French institution: read The New Yorker’s detailed review or let ‘a gigantic array of gastronomic treasures for your taste buds to wade through’ (my take) be enough.
16€, Parc des Expositions, Porte de Versailles
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