#b#Vive la France . . .#/b#
Congratulations on your September 21 cover story about the French influence on Princeton! As board members of Woman, Cradle of Abundance Inc., a Princeton-based non-profit organization that empowers women in the Democratic Republic of Congo, we would like to invite everyone to a concert Saturday, October 1, at 2 p.m. at Miller Chapel, Princeton Theological Seminary, that will feature French art songs.
Singers and pianists from the Princeton area will perform songs of Debussy, Poulenc, and Faure. The beautiful, natural cadence of the French language makes it easy to set to music, and these composers have created soaring melodies and lush harmonies to evoke the sentiments of the poetry at hand.
We are fortunate to have the Congo founders of our partner non-profit visiting us for this concert. They will address our audience in gratitude for their support.
For more information, visit www.womancradleofabundance.org. Tickets are available at the door or online at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2594383.
Anna de Groot, Elsie McKee
#b#. . . And the Arts#/b#
Thank you for the wonderful coverage of the two Princeton Photography Club galleries: Lakefront and Millstone River. The Fall Arts Preview in the September 14 issue of U.S. 1 is an excellent introduction to the communities events and I know how much hard work went into creating such an inclusive listing.
Often I get calls from local artists asking to display once an article like this goes out. So not only do we have more visitors to the galleries but we also often hear from an emerging artist we would normally not know. This gives us an opportunity to introduce new artists in our galleries. Everyone benefits from your efforts.
Sheila Geisler
Curator, Lakefront & Millstone River Galleries
#b#Vietnamese Writers#/b#
On September 1, Princeton’s Lewis Center for the Arts invited the author of the national bestseller, “The Sympathizer,” to read from his book. Viet Thanh Nguyen has been described as “the writer of the great Vietnamese American Vietnam War novel.” There are shelves full of books on the Vietnam War written by Americans. Now there is one book written by a Vietnamese American.
But one category has been overlooked: Books on the Vietnam War written by a Vietnamese from a Vietnamese perspective. In this category there is one singular writer who writes brilliantly of the war from his personal perspective as a soldier with grit, pathos, and compassion. His name is Bao Ninh and his debut book is called “The Sorrows of War.” It was published in Hanoi in 1991, in Great Britain in 1994, and in America in 1998 by Vintage Press. It is a best seller in Vietnam. The translation can be found on Amazon.com.
Libby Zinman Schwartz
