Upcoming Readings At Village Voice

There are two must-see/hear readings coming soon at the Village Voice bookshop in the 6th. First up on January 27 the Pakistani poet and journalist Fatima Bhutto will read from her family memoirSongs Of Blood And Sword. The following week author and former New York Times European cultural correspondent Alan Riding reads from his latest book And The Show Went On: Cultural Life In Nazi-Occupied Paris.

Fatima Bhutto is the grand-daughter of former Pakistani Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, and the niece of assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Her father Murtaza Bhutto was murdered during his sister's premiership, when Fatima was 14 years old. She has consistently alleged that Benazir or Asif Ali Zardari, Benazir's widower and current president of Pakistan, had a hand in her father's death. As a journalist she writes regularly for The Daily Beast and the New Statesman amongst others. Hers is a respected international voice in the realm of Pakistani socio-politics, although she has repeatedly intimated that she has no desire to pursue a career in politics.

Her first book, a collection of poetry entitled Whispers Of the Desert, contained work written when Bhutto was just 15 years old. 8.50 am. 8 October 2005, her second book, contained accounts of the devastating 2005 earthquake in Kashmir. Songs Of Blood And Sword: A Daughter's Memoir is an account of her father's life, her family's dramatic, complex history, and the larger story of the country of Pakistan. In a detailed account of her father's murder she makes clear her belief that those responsible for the organization of the attack are now running the country.

For 12 years Alan Riding was the European cultural correspondent for The New York Times. Previously he was bureau chief for the Times in Paris, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Mexico City. In And The Show Went On Riding introduces us to a panoply of artists who kept working throughout the four year German occupation of France, amongst them Maurice Chevalier, Edith Piaf, Django Reinhardt, Jean Cocteau and Pablo Picasso. Despite the suffocating living conditions more than 200 films were made and thousands of books published, including Jean-Paul Sartre's Being And Nothingness.

Riding examines the divisions that existed in France before the occupation, divisions that reemerged when the Nazi's arrived. Ultimately he is brave enough to question whether artists and writers have a special duty to show moral leadership in moments of national trauma.

Both events start at 7pm and will be seated on a first-come first-served basis, so queuing up early is essential. The readings are free but buying a book is "suggested" on the website. Make of that what you will good people.

VILLAGE VOICE
6 rue Princesse 75006
Metro St Germain des Pres

Source: http://www.vingtparismagazine.com/2011/01/upcoming-readings-at-village-voice.html