
My brother-in-law, Jacques, a.k.a. "Marcel". Find out why in the following story…
nom d’emprunt (nohm-duhmpruhn) noun, masculine
: alias
(literally: "borrowed name")
Synonyms (beginning in English and ending in
French…) include: anonym, pseudonym, un sobriquet (an unofficial name), un
"nom de plume" (pen name), and un "nom de guerre" ("war name" assumed
name).
* * *
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I have a new nickname for my brother-in-law and
it rhymes with "ink well", "story to tell," and even "sheep’s bell" (three
concepts, by the way, that a certain Provençal "word painter," who holds the
same name, knew so well).
Speaking of word painting (or "the art of
writing"), though my brother-in-law may feel more at home on a motorcycle,
"Man of Letters" is a jacket he tried on this past weekend when he put aside
his leather riding veste* and picked up a plume.* Perhaps those familiar
handlebars served as an écritoire?* …though you wouldn’t know it from his
neat handwriting, which, like sheep’s bells and ink wells, is rather swell.
This brings us back to the name that I’ve been calling my beau-frère lately,
and that’d be…. "Marcel".*
Without further ado, or, as the French say, sans plus de cérémonie… here is my brother-in-law’s debut story about a favorite gastronomical pastime. Read it here in French (and
soon in English). Note, the following PDF file appears upside down. After
clicking open the link, use one of the menus (or navigation bars…) to
rotate the document. Je vous souhaite bonne lecture!*
.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~References~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
la veste (f) =
jacket; la plume (f) = feather (pen); une écritoire (f) = portable writing
desk; Marcel = Marcel Pagnol,
Good news:
The book "Lonely Planet Provence" lists "Words in a French Life" as essential
reading! Thank you for ordering a copy of either book.
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A
Writers Paris: A Guided Journey For The Creative Soul
My
Father’s Glory & My Mother’s Castle: Marcel Pagnol’s Memories of
Childhood
Spotted
in France: A Dog’s Life…On the Road
Moleskin
Paris Notebook: "The future is unwritten. Take up your pen and shape it."
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