French Literary Enthusiasts

The French Instructional Book Club of L’Union Française
for Spring 2025

Poetry and Fiction of the French Resistance

The Plays of Jean Anouilh

The spring 2024 Book Club will be offered over 2 courses of 6 sessions each.

Course 1: The Poetry and Fiction of the French Resistance

Dates: January 25, February 1, February 8, February 15, March 8, and March 15.

The courage of great writers may rise to the occasion of a challenging season of national crisis, and what could be a greater crisis than the occupation of one’s nation by a totalitarian regime?

Come revisit the words of the thinkers of the Nazi occupation of France, their poetry and fiction. Any people experiencing concerns about liberty benefit from reading the works of those who stood up to dictators. Come consider the liberatory words by people like Louis Aragon, Jean-Paul Sartre, and other thinkers of the 1940s who wrote bravely.

Course 2: The plays of Jean Anouilh

Dates: March 29, April 5, April 19, April 26, May 3, and May 10

Twentieth-century playwright Jean Anouilh revisited classical texts and historical figures to speak about modern times. We will read Antigone, L’Alouette,  and Euridyce by this modern author reconsidering timeless stories.

This is an instructional book club. Note that this series is in French and requires at least an intermediate French ability (B1) for participation.

The classes will meet on Saturdays at 12 p.m. at 4522 Prytania Street.

Tuition is $110 for the each 6-session course.

Contact Anne Babson for additional information at anne_babson@yahoo.com