“Eastern Europe is disappearing. Not the physical place, but the idea. Whatever held the region together in the mind’s eye — a shared experience of occupation and exclusion, the permanent-seeming weight of economic backwardness, treasured memories of defeat — is gone, or at least not as present as it had been.” – Jacob Mikanowski
GOODBYE EASTERN EUROPE
by Jacob Mikanowski
Knopf, Winter 2021
(chez Frances Goldin Literary Agency – voir catalogue)
In the wake of the Soviet Union’s collapse, the bonds that held all the various nations of Eastern Europe together as Soviet satellites have dissolved, calling into question what exactly connects them, and whether there was ever any such place to begin with. But, Mikanowski argues, there really was something more to Eastern Europe than shared political subjection. Eastern Europe had a particular character, and this book will name and describe the peculiar flavor of the place, from the Baltics to the Balkans, from Prague to Kiev. Part history, part travelogue, part reading of the disparate canon of Eastern European literature, GOODBYE EASTERN EUROPE will be a work in the tradition of Ian Frazier’s Travels in Siberia, or Simon Winder’s Germania or Danubia—an anatomy of a region as refracted through its literature, and a fascinating exploration of an incredibly diverse, complex, and surprising terrain.
Jacob Mikanowski is a journalist, critic and essayist. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic Monthly, Harper’s, The Guardian, Lapham’s Quarterly, and elsewhere. He grew up in the US, but his family is Polish.
This inspirational guide introduces you to the locals behind thirty-five of Paris’s unique shops, studios, and more. Through beautifully illustrated spreads, immerse yourself in the daily practices of diverse creatives including fashion designer Isabel Marant; baker Apollonia Poilâne, whose sourdough loaves are the toast of the city; fourth-generation art supplier Sophie Sennelier; Palais-Royal shoe designer Pierre Hardy; jet-setting street artist and hotelier André Saraiva; bookseller Sylvia Whitman who continues her father’s literary heritage with flair; French cocktail expert Franck Audoux; the duo behind ecological sneaker brand Véja; the inventor of the bistronomy movement Yves Camdeborde; plus a host of chocolatiers, florists, cheesemakers, patissiers, stationers, and more. Each maker links to the next with a personal introduction that adds insight to how these interconnected communities thrive and grow together. You’ll get to know each maker—their tools, practices, passions, histories, inspirations, and work environments. MAKERS: PARIS takes you inside their businesses to show you how they invent, craft, and sell their wares, and demonstrates in the process how each maker’s own passions and talents splendidly intersect with their city’s hunger for quality, style, and substance. Whether you’re planning a trip to Paris, looking for inspiration, or just wondering what’s hot in the City of Lights, this thrilling tour will leave you inspired, satisfied…and hungry for more.
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