Elaine Sciolino, Life on the Rue des Martyrs during Quarantine

Evenings with an Author

Please join us for an informal and uplifting check-in with author and journalist Elaine Sciolino. Following country-wide quarantine measures put in place by the French government, Elaine is confined on the Rue des Martyrs, the subject of her 2016 book, The Only Street in Paris: Life on the Rue des Martyrs. Despite the circumstances, this unique Parisian quartier–and its residents–retain a certain degree of pre-Covid 19 life and charm. In Elaine’s words, the Rue des Martyrs is “a half-mile celebration of the city in all its diversity with rituals and traditions and a feeling of community that goes back decades. It does not belong to monumental Paris — you won’t find it in most Paris guidebooks — and it has managed to retain the feel of a small village.” Tune in to our event to see how Elaine is experiencing confinement, what new hobbies she’s acquired, and get the latest news on her most recent book, The Seine: The River that Made Paris.

Elaine is a contributing writer and former Paris bureau chief for The New York Times, based in France since 2002. In 2010, she was decorated chevalier of the Legion of Honor, the highest honor of the French state, for her “special contribution” to the friendship between France and the United States.

Covid-19 Update: Although our physical space has temporarily closed, the Library will continue with its Evening with an Author programming during the period of confinement. Our events will continue to be free and open to the public via Zoom. Each event will be capped at 100 participants. We have moved the events up, to begin at 17h00 (Central European Time). Please check eLibris or our programs calendar for updates and line-up.

Recorded 21 April 2020