The American Library in Paris
Short film highlighting the library's current and archival images, and the testimony of those, young and old, who know and love it.
Video created by: 2 spot digital france
Ta-Nehisi Coates @ The American Library in Paris | 17 July 2013
Ta-Nehisi Coates, senior editor at The Atlantic and author of the 2008 memoir 'The Beautiful Struggle,' speaks at The American Library in Paris on July 17, 2013. Coates discusses his summer in France and the process of learning French as well as Trayvon Martin and how the George Zimmerman verdict and the reaction to it fit into the broader issue of race and American history.
americanlibraryinparis.org
Mimi Thorisson @ The American Library in Paris | 28 October 2014
Many people dream of leaving city life to live in a French village and raising a family surrounded by vineyards and fields. Blogger and food writer Mimi Thorisson did just that when she moved from Paris with her photographer husband, Oddur Thorisson, and their family of 7 children and 14 dogs to Médoc in the southwest region of France.
She will be talking about her first cookbook, A Kitchen in France: A Year of Cooking in my Farmhouse, along with her husband Oddur, who was the photographer for the book.
Video edited by Sabina Cristian.
Jimmy Buffett @ The American Library in Paris | 23 September 2015
The popular singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett speaks with Library Programs Manager Grant Rosenberg about his life and career.
Cameras: Stan Kellam & Lars Larsen
Audio: Rodney Gnoinsky
Producers: Kino Bachellier & Heikki Larsen
Edited by: Stan Kellam
americanlibraryinparis.org
Agnès Poirier @ The American Library in Paris | 30 May 2018
Journalist Agnès Poirier speaks about her book Left Bank: Art, Passion and the Rebirth of Paris 1940-1950, in conversation with NPR’s Eleanor Beardsley. With engaging, entertaining prose, Poirier explores the illustrious history of this iconic Paris neighborhood and its denizens. Reviewing the book for the New York Times, Lauren Elkin (a past Library speaker) writes that Poirier, who finds wonderful anecdotes about figures like Cocteau, Brando, Miles Davis, and others, “manages to create the feeling that we’re peeking into the windows of her subjects, looking into buildings that still stand, at inhabitants long gone,” while Laura Freeman in the Times of London concludes that this “hugely enjoyable, quick-witted and richly anecdotal book is magnéfique.”
Video edited by Sabina Cristian.
Luc Sante @ The American Library in Paris | 27 September 2016
Luc Sante presents his raved-about book exploring the underbelly of Paris, far from the postcard clichés.
video edited by Keziah Plummer.
The American Library in Paris - Renewal 2016
Short film about the renewal of the American Library in Paris.
Summer 2016
Pamela Druckerman @ The American Library in Paris | 19 June 2018
Journalist and author Pamela Druckerman, best known for her book Bringing up Bébé, returns to the library to speak about her latest, There Are No Grown-ups: A Midlife Coming-of-Age Story.
Her most recent column for the International New York Times is an essay adapted from the upcoming book, and can be read here:
Video edited by Sabina Cristian.
Lindsey Tramuta @ The American Library in Paris | 10 May 2017
There is no shortage of guidebooks and looks at Paris, but Lindsey Tramuta is doing something different. The New Paris: The People, Places & Ideas Fueling a Movement looks at the ways the city is changing in foods savory and sweet, wine, coffee, pastries, design, and more, and the people who are changing the image of this beautiful city that has nonetheless sometimes remained too traditional to a fault. Lindsey, in conversation with New Yorker writer (and Library speaker for her book When in French) Lauren Collins, will tell us about how Paris is catching up to the dynamism seen in other European and North American cities and beyond.
Video edited by Sabina Cristian.
Film Screening - Paris Noir @ The American Library in Paris | 14 February 2018
Paris Noir: African Americans in the City of Light is the most comprehensive and compelling documentary existing on the remarkable migration of pioneering African Americans to France and the impact both cultures had on each other. Weaving stories and themes from World War I, the Jazz Age of the 1920s up to the German occupation of WWII, Paris Noir is thought-provoking storytelling that resonates in today’s social and political climate. More than a historical documentary, Paris Noir reveals the beginning of worldwide assertion of African American culture. Directed, written and edited by critically-acclaimed documentary filmmakers Joanne Burke and David Burke, Paris Noir blends rare photographs and archival footage, exciting period music, and insightful commentary by leading scholars and experts. The trailer is below.
Video edited by Sabina Cristian.
La Génération Perdue - The American Library in Paris
Vincent Bouvet parle de la bibliothèque américaine à Paris
Lauren Elkin @ The American Library in Paris | 14 December 2016
Lauren Elkin presents her book Flaneuse: Women Walk the City in Paris, New York, Tokyo, Venice and London.
Video edited by Keziah Plummer.
Patricia Wells & Ann Mah @ The American Library in Paris | 5 February 2014
Food writers Patricia Wells and Ann Mah discuss their latest respective books, The French Kitchen Cookbook: Recipes and Lessons from Paris and Provence, and Mastering the Art of French Eating: Lessons on Food and Love from a Year in Paris.
This panel discussion evokes their love of food, and French food in particular, and writing about it for different readerships. Patricia’s book is a beautiful recipe collection that goes beyond how to simply make the meals in its pages while Ann’s book explores the classics of French regions. Together, Patricia and Ann have much to say and the evening promises to be enteraining and informative, if not delicious.
Video edited by Sabina Cristian.
Alexander Maksik @ The American Library in Paris | 15 January 2014
Novelist Alexander Maksik reads from his book 'A Marker to Measure Drift' and discusses the process of writing it.
americanlibraryinparis.org
Excerpt of Alexandra Kleeman @The American Library in Paris
Alexandra Kleeman discusses her debut novel, You Too Can Have a Body Like Mine and considers writing realism, her fascination with missing persons stories and other inspirations.
edited by Keziah Plummer
Joan Schenkar @ The American Library in Paris l 1 October 2014
Author and playwright and part-time Paris resident Joan Schenkar discusses her book The Talented Miss Highsmith: The Secret Life and Serious Art of Patricia Highsmith, which is considered the definitive biography of the late fiction writer.
video edited by Cullen Welch.
French Food Panel @ The American Library in Paris | 16 Sept 2013
Chef Daniel Rose, Pascale Brevet of Slow Food France and Terroirs d'Avenir co-founder Alexandre Drouard discuss the concept of terroir, the state of French food and making tasty meals from fresh ingredients.
americanlibraryinparis.org
Adam Plowright @ The American Library in Paris | 14 March 2018
AFP journalist Adam Plowright presents his book The French Exception: Emmanuel Macron – The Extraordinary Rise and Risk, the first in English about the French president, chronicling in great detail his improbably fast rise to the Elysée and his first year as chef d’état. In its review of the book, the newspaper The Hindu wrote, “Plowright’s book is therefore a fine addition to the bookshelf of anyone interested in France, Europe and international geopolitics. The student of human psychology will not be disappointed either.”
Video edited by Sabina Cristian.
Paula Harrington @ The American Library in Paris | 19 April 2016
Colby College professor Paula Harrington discusses Mark Twain’s relationship to France and his travels here between 1867 and 1891, and the evolution of his attitude toward the country, its role in the world, and its international reputation.
Alexander Lobrano & Clotilde Dusoulier @ The American Library in Paris | 14 October 2014
Food writers Alexander Lobrano and Clotilde Dusoulier discuss their latest respective books, Hungry for France and Edible French: Tasty Expressions and Cultural Bites, as well as their perspectives on new restaurants and the different food movements in France now.
Vdeo edited by Sophie Lavergne.