Le Salon Annex

  "Reading The Vagabond" Kristin Fouquet 2022      Spring felt like the time to reread  The Vagabond , a novel from one of my favorite French authors, Colette. The name of the protagonist, Renée, means reborn. This is no accident, as  The   Vagabond  is semi-autobiographical, and Colette was newly divorced from a scoundrel of a husband who claimed all of her first novels under his name. Renée, much like Colette, fled her married writing life to become a dancer and mime on the stage in music halls across France. This first book under her name alone was written with keen rebellion and a tinge of revenge.           Published in 1910,  The Vagabond  is set in a period where women had little independence. When Renée finds herself under the spell of a second love, she must face the struggle of choosing love or freedom. This choice is difficult: stay independent and free, but with the hard work of performing and touring, or succumb to emotion and a comfortable life? Few modern women

  "A Cheshire Cat in Audubon Park" copyright 2022 Kristin Fouquet "I am not crazy, my reality is just different from yours." - Cheshire Cat -Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass

"Reading Strapless " Kristin Fouquet 2022              Madame X  by John Singer Sargent is one of the most famous and enduring portraits, but few are familiar with the beautiful subject, Virginie Amélie Gautreau. My interest in her began even before I learned I lived in her childhood home. In the early 1990s, I rented an apartment and then another at 927 Toulouse in the French Quarter. The building was built by her grandfather, Phillippe Avegno, and was considered one of the “earliest skyscrapers” of New Orleans. In  Strapless: John Singer Sargent and The Fall of Madame X  by Deborah Davis, the author presents a detailed gaze into Gautreau’s early life, her years as a Parisian socialite, and until her death as a recluse in 1915.   Sargent’s original painting from 1883-84,  Madame Gautreau , with her fallen strap, caused such a scandal that the artist was astounded by the reaction, and the subject was shunned by society. He later repainted the strap on her shoulder and kept th

  Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven"

  I'm delighted to have my photograph "Lucid Nightmare 18" published with a wonderful short story by Amy Cipolla Barnes. You can view and read here: Mud Season Review, Fiction Issue #60 Many thanks to Art Editor, Kristin LaFollette!