Author: THE HOBBLEDEHOY

Michael Stevenson, aka Dai Bando, Johnny Foreigner, Monsieur Pas De Merde, is a blogger of French and British culture. His blogs "Pas De Merde" and "The Hobbledehoy" have been called "marvelous" by some, and "meh" by others.

The Aperitif Tales: When Words Take to the Air

Every evening, the Coulée Verte transforms into an open-air stage with the “Contes d’Apéro”. An hour of living literature without any artifice. 

Here, there’s no need for a red curtain or spotlights. Just a stage and a few chairs for the audience. Every evening at 7 PM, the kiosk of the Théâtre National de Nice on the Coulée Verte becomes a literary stage. One evening, one century: that’s the theme set for this summer. From the 16th to the 21st century, the texts span all genres: theatre, poetry, novels, philosophy…  and to accompany it all: a non-alcoholic aperitif offered to everyone.

The opening phrase: “It is better to do than to say” and the evening begins. No set, no costumes, just the voice. Victor Hugo, Alfred de Musset, Flaubert… Lucrèce Borgia, On ne badine pas avec l’amour, Correspondence. Each reading lasts about ten minutes and flows seamlessly.

“They are very good actors, they manage to bring the texts to life. It’s a real living reading”, says Didier, visiting from Marseille. A theater enthusiast, he is discovering the Contes d’Apéro for the first time. However, he observes one detail: “It’s a shame there are only gray hairs. Not a young person in the audience.” Sitting next to him, Nicole his aunt, adds “I am a regular. This is my second time this year. It’s friendly and original. I love coming here.”

Ending with poetry and song

After a poetic interlude with Rimbaud, Baudelaire and Victor Hugo, the evening ends with a song. Everyone hums Le Temps des cerises by Yves Montand, in a wonderful collective energy. And to close the evening, a little literary quiz on themes of clever quips. Who will find the author of these fine words?

The Contes d’Apéro continue until August 3rd every evening of the week at 7 PM. Each evening, a new century, a new atmosphere but always under the open sky and with heart.

Source: The Aperitif Tales: When Words Take to the Air – Nice Premium EN

Bastille Day: How literary writings see the French Revolution

The storming of the Bastille prison on July 14, 1789, is seen as a defining event in the French Revolution. But how does the revolution affect writers, poets, painters and other creative minds?

By Mohammad Asim Siddiqui

France celebrates Bastille Day to commemorate the storming of the Bastille prison on July 14, 1789, a defining event in the French Revolution. The Bastille was originally built as a castle in Paris in the 14th century to protect the city. But it was later used as a prison and came to symbolise the brute and arbitrary powers of the king.

The historiography of the French Revolution offers varied perspectives on the events, with some celebrating its revolutionary character and others highlighting the violence that accompanied it. For instance, British historian Eric Hobsbawm in Echoes of the Marseillaise: Two Centuries Look Back on the French Revolution (1990) focuses on the positive takeaways of the Revolution – Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité (liberty, equality and fraternity), the spirit of the Enlightenment, and the overthrow of aristocracy by the middle class.

He also laments many historians’ and writers’ emphasis on the violence and destruction associated with the Revolution. Hobsbawm considers historian Simon Schama’s bestselling book Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution (1989), which highlights the violent nature of the Revolution through an engaging narrative. He sees it as part of a tradition in England established by Edmund Burke’s Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790), Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities (1859), and many other popular works.

But how do Romantic poets like William Blake, William Wordsworth, and P B Shelley depict the French Revolution? Why does Albert Elmer Hancock say that the French experience “humanised” Wordsworth? Why does Jane Austen deliberately avoid discussing directly the events of the French Revolution that so disturbed her world, but incorporate many of her responses to those events in her writing? Continue reading “Bastille Day: How literary writings see the French Revolution” →

Listen to The French Connection’s Bastille Day Celebration Speciale

By Michael Stevenson

THE FRENCH CONNECTION

From WRIU, Kingston, 90.3 FM, welcome to our show, The French Connection.  I am your host, Mike Stevenson.

We broadcast from the University of Rhode Island’s Memorial Union every Sunday at 7 pm EST, following Wayne Cresser’s Picture This – Film Music on the Radio.

Mike Stevenson

Each week on The French Connection, we will explore the wonderful varieties of French music, from the early 1920s to present day: Chanson, Jazz, Folk, Jazz Manouche and Rock n Roll.

JULY 13 SHOW

Our Bastille Day Celebration show included sets of music by two legends of chanson, Charles Trenet and Serge Gainsbourg. We also played three renditions of La Marseillaise, and closed with a set of anti-war songs.
A complete list of music played on the show is below.

The FRENCH CONNECTION PLAYLIST JULY 13, 2025