Archive by Author
A French Poem: Les vers dorés (The Golden Lines) Posted by Hichem on May 13, 2011
If André Breton and his happy bunch of Surrealists “à la Salvador Dali” stroke you légèrement (slightly) as the “eccentric” type, then wait until you meet another French monsieur who preceded them by a few decades. His name is Gérard de Nerval… Considered by some as le père spirituel (the spiritual father) of Victor Hugo, he is known…
French Rap Pioneer Mc Solaar Edges on “Le Nouveau Western” Posted by Hichem on May 11, 2011
Come on, wear your chapeau (hat), bring your Smith & Wesson, jump on the selle (saddle) of your cheval (horse), and let’s go for une petite balade (a small ride) with Mc Solaar… We’re off to le Nouveau Western (“The New Western”) * * * MC SOLAAR, “Le Nouveau Western” (“The New Western”) * * * Le vent…
“La Brabançonne”: The National Anthem of Belgium (in French) Posted by Hichem on May 10, 2011
A few years ago, Yves Leterme, ex-Prime Minister of La Belgique (Belgium) was asked by a journalist, “à l’improviste” (unexpectedly), if he knew the lyrics of l’hymne national (national hymn) of his country. The answer of Leterme? He started singing la Marseillaise, the French national anthem! * * * The video showing Leterme “en flagrant délit”…
Secrets de l’art magique surréaliste (Secrets of the Magical Surrealist Art) Posted by Hichem on May 6, 2011
Yesterday’s post, “Surréalisme of André Breton: “La chute libre dans le subconscient” (“The Free Fall into the Subconscious”)“, introduced a general idea of what “le surréalisme” is, and described the Surrealist call to give carte blanche (or “free rein”) to one’s subconscious, in the manner that was expressed by le chef de file (the leader) of…
Surréalisme of André Breton Posted by Hichem on May 5, 2011
Imagine if you were to completely open your mind, without the slightest form of compulsion or restraint, set it into the most “passive mode“, and start writing, just writing, not caring about any considération logique ou esthétique (logical or esthetical consideration)… Give free reign to your subconscious to express itself in plain words. If you…
Conjugaison: The Verb Comprendre (To Understand) Posted by Hichem on May 4, 2011
“Je vous ai compris” (“I understood you”) is a famous political statement made in l’histoire de France. Its inherent semantic ambiguïté managed to buy some time for its inventor, le Général de Gaulle, in dealing with la guerre d’Algérie (the Algerian War), but somehow didn’t do much good, half a century later, to ex-presidents Ben Ali and Mubarak—A…
Rome, la ville éternelle (the Eternal City) Posted by Hichem on May 2, 2011
It is one thing to discover a city of the grandeur of Rome or Paris using a step-by-step guide touristique (city guide), but it is completely another when it is through the insightful work of a literary genius. * * * In today’s post, nous allons suivre les traces (we will follow the footsteps) of…