For those of you who are concerned about Parisian rioting and student unrest, fear not. If one wishes to avoid such matters and live in a personal void, one may here in Paris, just as well as one may in any city. There have been student marches down my street, straight past my door. It’s as easy as noticing the police presence and staying inside until the yelling stops to miss it all. Last week, I had dinner at the de Bretteville’s, and they mentioned a huge riot that was going on all afternoon at Invalides. Funny, I thought, I passed under all the mayhem (and we’re talking many injuries and arrests) snug as could be in a metro car that made a stop at Invalides. On Tuesday, there were major strikes, including the metro. Seeing as I walk to school, I was completely unaffected. The next day, people mentioned riots that had happened all over the city. I smiled: the news seemed as far away as if it had all happened in Alaska. Job security is sacred in France, even for the untrained and unqualified. Can you imagine the possibility of being under 26 and being fired from your job in the first two years of employment? Yes, think we Americans, yes we can. What’s wrong with you, France? Show up for work and do your job well and you’ll have nothing to worry about. Save the riots for something that matters.

Anyway, off the high horse for now. Cooked mullet today (the fish, not the hairdo), and watched a very confusing demo on duck.

But onto the REALLY EXCITING stuff (I put that in bold for the skimmers): I had seen that tonight at my favorite English language bookshop they were having a reading from the Paris Review. The Paris Review is a quarterly literary magazine that features new writers and interviews with very celebrated artists. In true French style, the reading was on the second floor, in a completely uncleared space, with about 150 folding chairs squeezed in wherever they could go. It was tight to say the least and so beyond acceptable in a realm of fire safety. But the readings were fantastic, and the readers were even better. This French poet read a beautiful poem called “Sycamore,” and a journalist read a Rick Bass travelogue, and a concert pianist read an amazing Russian piece whose author and title I forget. But the moment of truth was when Olivia de Havilland read an interview with William Faulkner about a film he had worked on in New Orleans and Grand Isle. Olivia de Havilland is an Oscar winning actress from the ‘30s on. She was nominated for best supporting actress for Gone with the Wind. She’s an adorable lady and it was incredible to stumble upon her amazing reading.