CHID Italy: Narrating Italy - 1948 to the Present

Wow...cool program in Rome.  Go do it!

Sponsored by The Comparative History of Ideas & English
Fall 2012. Dates of Instruction: 9/25 to 12/6, 2012
Program Directors: Norman Wacker (English) & Zorica Wacker (CHID)
Deadline extended to May 20!!!

Carlos Fuentes, Mexican Novelist, Dies at 83

By ANTHONY DePALMA
Published: May 15, 2012

Carlos Fuentes, Mexico’s elegant public intellectual and grand man of letters, whose panoramic novels captured the complicated essence of his country’s history for readers around the world, died on Tuesday in Mexico City. He was 83.

Read the NYT article.

Carlos Fuented: 5 best novels [CSM]

Find books by Carlos Fuentes at UW Libraries.

Entrevista a Vicente Luis Mora (Córdoba, España, 1970)

Nuevas referencias is a bilingual blog for librarians and bibliophiles who wish to discover new Spanish-speaking authors in order to enrich and update the literary collections they maintain. 

Entrevista a Vicente Luis Mora

Vicente Luis Mora has a PhD in Contemporary Spanish Literature. He has been awarded the prizes Young Andalucía for Narrative, Arcipreste de Hita for Poetry, 1st Prize by Revista de Letras to the Best National Blog on Literary Criticism for his blog "Diario de Lecturas" and 1st Prize, Malaga Essay Award. He works as a literary critic for periodicals such as  "Ínsula," "Quimera," "Clarín" and "Mercurio." He is the Director of the Cervantes Institute in Marrakech.

Keeping Portland Weird...in Paris

I just found out that they're celebrating our Portland frères et sœurs in Paris...right now!  At the "Keep Portland Weird" Festival.  I love this!

Not in Paris?  Follow the events on the Willamette Week blog.

In Paris?  Le Monde wrote up a lengthy overview replete with pictures of Porlandians.

Cedric Watson & Bijou Creole

 Saturday,
April 28, 2012
8 PM

Meany Hall 

One of the most notable young talents to emerge in Cajun or Creole music in the past few years, four-time Grammy-nominated Cedric Watson is a fiddler, vocalist, accordionist and songwriter of seemingly unlimited potential. Drawn to the old-style of French song from Southern Louisiana, the Texas native and his band play a variety of old-school zydeco styles, original material and Creole traditions. His soaring, soulful vocals, all in French, remind us of a time long ago. Cedric’s creative style and obvious joy in playing make him an engaging and exciting performer, and his natural playfulness on stage makes him great fun to watch.

Check out more Creole music from UW Libraries.

France Today / Europe Day

The European Union Center of Excellence, French Consulate in Seattle, and the Delegation of the European Union to the USA are pleased to present the following activities to mark Europe Day:

Prof. Raymond Jonas, UW & Steve Smith, Rick Steves' Europe:
France Today
May 8, 2012, 7:00-9:00 PM
110 Kane Hall, UW - Seattle

Come learn about France as a nation and as a travel destination. UW history professor Raymond Jonas will provide an update on France on the heels of its historic presidential elections. Steve Smith of Rick Steves’ Europe will then share his 25 years of travel and guidebook writing experience in France, taking you through the back door and sharing his favorite places to visit in 2012.

May 9 is Europe Day, commemorating the date of the 1950 Schuman Declaration, that led to the formation of the European Union. Come to Red Square on the UW campus from 9:30 to 11:00 am for Europe Day Trivia and free espresso, and to the lecture "Where Europe Ends?" by Professor Alina Mungiu-Pippidi in the UW Allen Auditorium at 3:30pm.

These events are free and open to the public, no registration required.

BSF lance la Bibliothèque Idéale - Participez à l'aventure!

Frenchies/Francophiles....

Which book has particularly moved you or even changed your life?  Recommend it to help build la Bibliothèque Idéale!

My picks, you ask?

• Moderato Cantabile / Marguerite Duras
• A Confederacy of Dunces / John Kennedy Toole
• Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas / Hunter S. Thompson
• Native Son / Richard Wright

 Bon week-end!