Read This, Then That: Ladies of Paris

Read This: Kiki by Amanda Earl (Chaudiere Books)Then That: Now Comes the Lightning by Sarah Bernstein (Pedlar Press) When I say 1930s French Cabaret, you probably think of Edith Piaf. But there were many women who came before Edith. In this edition of Read This, Then That, we’re looking at two poetry collections that provide a glimpse into life in Montmartre and Montparnasse, the nuclei of the major cultural and artistic revivals taking place in France at the time of the Great War.Each collection takes as its subject a woman who lived in Paris circa the 1920s and 30s, who was central to a particular scene. In Kiki, we learn about the life and times of Alice Ernestine Prin, the Queen of Montparnasse. Kiki performed in cabarets, made art, posed nude, was incarcerated, starred in avant-garde silent films, modeled for her partner, Man Ray, and other artists.Now Comes the Lightning is set in the streets of Montmartre, and tells the story of Marguerite Boulc’h, who later became known as Fréhel. Despite being one of Europe’s most sought after performers, both as a singer and an actress, her destructive addictions led to her dropping out of sight for years at a time.Both of these collections show how these women navigated a social and economic landscape that was not always friendly to single, independent women. Both had difficult family circumstances to overcome, and later, failed romantic relationships. Yet we also see a glimpse of the ways women worked together to support and safe guard each other in the world of cabarets and jazz clubs. We also get to see early 20th century Paris in detail. Sadly, both Kiki and Fréhel suffered from addiction and alcoholism, which ultimately lead each to their deaths in the early 1950s.I recommend this pair of poetry collections to Francophiles and independent women from coast-to-coast.

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