With all the shock and disruption in Paris and elsewhere, I want you to know that this American believes in France: in what she stands for in the world, and what she will always stand for. Liberté, égalité, fraternité.

France’s reaction to 9/11. Flags to half-staff. A national day of mourning, and at noon the whole country stopped — traffic pulled over, people stood still in the street for three minutes of silence. Jacques Chirac flew to Washington and then to New York within the week, the first foreign head of state to stand at Ground Zero. America and France sometimes disagree, but I live part of the year among French neighbors, and I can tell you the reservoir of goodwill is real and enduring: Lafayette and Rochambeau at Yorktown, a copper lady in New York Harbor who was a gift from this country, the American boys in the sand at Omaha Beach. On September 11, 2001, France remembered it all in a powerful way. 🇫🇷🇺🇸

July 4, 2026 250 years — and we have France to thank.

Conundrum unraveled

on a rock in the wilderness—

cholla thorns denied entry

by hide thickened to the task.

As it was, it still is. An incantation. The heart of Saint-Flour, caught in amber. Auvergne as spell, as once-was. In every time, in any time. It beats devoid of specifics in a sea of detail—every shutter, every cobblestone, every chapeau caught by the camera's patient eye. 

Emerson wrote, "The best thing for the inside of a man is the outside of a horse."

Turns out it's also the best thing for a young girl—and for a writer taking a break from his manuscript.

A pleasant moment with authors Franck Bouysse and Véronique Ovaldé at the 2025 Prix Le Temps retrouvé ceremony, Hôtel de Crillon, Paris, 12/10/25

With the backstage crew of Notre Dame de Paris. It was like a Victor Hugo novel. I had left my favorite hat at the theater a week before - I called but could not reach a lost & found. I called again to ask if anyone had the hat. The office? The security department? The Information desk? Frustrated, I decided…

It was an incident,

Marked by a moment’s passing,

Soon to be forgotten,

Mentioned briefly,

About a stranger,

About all the strangers,

A happenstance,

Pedestrian and commonplace,

Like leaves falling from a tree,

Or the Autumn winds turning colder,

Or the broken shutter on Mr. Cropsey’s barn,

They said his brother just died in the war.

Early morning calls,

On an empty Paris street,

Or the ticking of a solitary clock,

The hushed buzz from the corners,

Dim light playing on the bric-a-brac,

Whispering, get your own,

Come get your own,

Asking the shadow of a former self,

What shall I become today?

Water drips off roofs onto cold stones, morphs into rambling streams in search of thirsty riverbeds, the route for wayward trout…

There was no vocabulary to capture the size of the Queen Elizabeth as I entered her cavernous movie theater. I remember simply thinking, this is a theater… this is a full-sized theater, on a ship… a theater on a ship that sails to Europe. The incongruity blew me away.

Embark on a poetic journey through the enchanting streets of Paris with the debut of my new series. Each verse is a brushstroke, painting the City of Lights in the hues of love, history, and timeless elegance. Join me as I unveil the soul-stirring tales inspired by the romance that echoes through every cobblestone, café, and landmark of this iconic city. Stay tuned for the next chapters in this Parisian odyssey, where each poem is a love letter to the heart of France. 🇫🇷💫 #ParisPoetrySeries #EleganceUnveiled

In an homage to Marcel Proust, Alessandra Fra founded Le Temps Retrouvé Prize in 2020. The organization, Le Paris Littéraire, is sponsored by the Daniel Iagolnitzer Foundation, and it celebrates new novels that depict, with style and finesse, the complexity of human relationships and developments in society. The Ritz Paris is where Marcel Proust was a regular. I was honored to be invited to this extraordinary event.

Amazing visit to the Faculty of Language and Literature at Ho Chi Minh City University. I'm with my host Mrs. Phan Thu Van. This is a teacher training university. Lots of interesting questions about the characters in Mission in Paris 1990.

A warm welcome by Dr. Thai Kim Lan, owner of the Huong River Antique Pottery Museum in Hue. She's a poet, novelist and philosopher. Her latest book read? Mission in Paris 1990! So cool!