Friday, July 29, 2016

Remarkable Proust Archives Sold at Auction

Treasure trove of Proust memorabilia auctioned off.  Wow! Proust Auction


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Intimate letters, photos and other items said to be worth about $800,000.00.  Did you get to bid?  

And this link from the BBC news:  More about the auctioned items

Sotheby's in Paris conducted the auction May 31, 2016.  I can just imagine Proust writing about such an event.  Maybe some of his characters were there.  Anyone from the Jockey Club?  Certainly Swann, and maybe a Duke and Duchess or two.  Can you imagine the scene?  Some tension, enemies crossing paths, the Verdurins snubbed and snubbing.  The bids, the fear of exposure when such personal items go on the auction  block.  One is almost tempted to write such a scene.

This is the time of year everyone would have been at the beach hotels (or private residences), so it was a good thing they had the auction before the summer season started.   

I have been terribly negligent with this blog.  Reading. Writing. Cooking.  Gardening.  Family stuff. 

Forgive?   

Here's an extra:  Who made Proust swoon?  
 

Saturday, January 16, 2016

Catching Up On Proust

Whew!  Busy writing, cooking, gardening, doing the holidays, and racing around in general.  I have neglected Reading Proust in Foxborough, but here is a catch up post, because all the interesting Proust "stuff" that's come into my mailbox has been saved.  

Here are some cool links, in no particular order.  Read on. 

From November 11th.   Who was the woman who made Proust swoon?  Who was the model for the Duchess of Guermantes?

 France Marvels At a Class of Woman Who Made Proust Swoon

From November 19th:  The Albertine Workout.  What is heaven's name is that?  Read on and all shall be revealed.  Not what you think.  No weightlifting or wind sprints.  Some mental exercise involved.  Hey, it's Proust!

Enigmatic writer Anne Carson shares ‘The Albertine Workout’


Anne Carson Reads the Albertine Workout  


Proust: The Search by Benjamin Taylor review – scintillating narrative 

Swooning, scintillating, enigmatic:  we are definitely in Proust territory here. 

A new Proust biography from Yale University Press. 

 Searching for Proust and also lost time 

The Search: A Review 

 Are you exhausted yet?  Read on. 

December 10th, 2015  Proust Forum in Boca

My New York friends who spend part of the winter in Florida are always dismissive of its culture.  You probably were not in Boca Raton on Dec. 10th, but if you were, you, alas, missed an insightful lecture on Swann's Way.   Read on.  Proust and Swann's Way Discussed at Boca Forum 

Lastly, not strictly Proust, but tangential to Proust and I found it interesting to see Proust influencing the third world and you might also. 

January 11, 2016  Delhi, India

The popular writer-blogger talks about Delhi, Marcel Proust, and his days as a hotel waiter. 

 Mayank Austen Soofi is an interesting man.