old books for new times at l’insoumise
What I liked most at L’Insoumise, the Latin Quarter anarchist bookstore, was at the back. An Emma Goldman poster the size of a decent TV screen said: “I want freedom, the right to self-expression; everybody’s right to beautiful, radiant things.”
Nearby, a mother defined anarchism to her teen-aged daughter. “It’s craziness! Chaos! Everybody running around with their hands in the air!”
So which is it - freedom or lawlessness? utopia or disorder?
L’Insoumise, an anarchist bookstore, library and independent media center, does a great job addressing the topic’s two sides. The mission of this sliver of a space (L’Insoumise means unsubdued, or rebellious) is to make anarchist information available.
The shop’s most popular section is Marxist writings. Art and fiction, with Camus and Orwell among the favorites, is also much visited. Half of the books are in French, half in English, most are used.
There are sections dedicated to classics, poetry, drama, theater, contemporary anarchists, the history of anarchism, feminism, green architecture, animal liberation, Chomsky on foreign policy, surrealism, psychology, children.
They sell pamplets, magazines and newspapers, as well.
Booksellers are friendly and knowledgeable - and impeccably organized. Not far from the mother/daughter duo, an employee made his way through the section on the Spanish Civil war - lining the book spines up evenly with the edge of the wooden shelf.
Have you been to L’Insoumise? Purchased books or attended events there? Share your experience.
If you go:
2033 Blvd St-Laurent
(514) 313-3489
rhodia notebooks at arthur quentin
One of the reasons I love the Plateau kitchen and table ware store, Arthur Quentin, is that so much of what they sell is French. A few of my favorites this year are the Guy Degrenne teapots with a stainless cozy (sizes range from 2-8 cups), and the Upla bags, made from indestructible nylon with leather trim.
And - I know this may seem silly - I was ecstatic when I saw their new supply of Rhodia notebooks.
Why get excited about such a small and simple thing? These orange notebooks from the French Alps are all about order and aplomb. The color is fun, full of energy, and just a little bit eccentric, especially when they were first made, in the 30s.
The notebook’s inner pages, with their light gray grid, speak to my predisposition for order. The tidy squares promise that the small problems of the world will fall (ever so gently) into line: lost dogs will be reunited with their owners; unpaired socks will at long last find their match; too long to-do lists will self-organize into categories, with a timeline to follow.
I remember the first time I opened a Rhodia pad, and the cover folded back - and stayed put. For the first time, I understood good design. It felt good in the hand and in the mind. It solved a small, every day problem, only noticeable by the user.
The scored cover, made of quality paper, didn’t impede my progress. It didn’t flop, rip, curl or spring back. It folded quietly out of the way until I was done sketching, listing, or doodling. Then it folded flat again - flat! Ditto with the pages inside. I pick up an orange Rhodia pad now, and I’m back in France, younger and eager to know the ways of the world, and reasonably sure that I will.
This year marks the company’s 75th birthday, and the Rhodia folks are still helping us organize ourselves colorfully. They’re making plans for an upcoming calendar, and want fans to help choose the images - models wearing clothes and accessories made from, or resembling, Rhodia products. Photo credits.
