nom d'emprunt
Monday, May 19, 2008
My brother-in-law, Jacques, a.k.a. "Marcel". Find out why in the following story...
nom d'emprunt (nohm-duhmpruhn) noun, masculine
: alias (literally: "borrowed name")
Synonyms (beginning in English and ending in French...) include: anonym, pseudonym, un sobriquet (an unofficial name), un "nom de plume" (pen name), and un "nom de guerre" ("war name" assumed name).
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I have a new nickname for my brother-in-law and
it rhymes with "ink well", "story to tell," and even "sheep's bell" (three
concepts, by the way, that a certain Provençal "word painter," who holds the
same name, knew so well).
Speaking of word painting (or "the art of writing"), though my brother-in-law may feel more at home on a motorcycle, "Man of Letters" is a jacket he tried on this past weekend when he put aside his leather riding veste* and picked up a plume.* Perhaps those familiar handlebars served as an écritoire?* ...though you wouldn't know it from his neat handwriting, which, like sheep's bells and ink wells, is rather swell. This brings us back to the name that I've been calling my beau-frère lately, and that'd be.... "Marcel".*
Without further ado, or, as the French say, sans plus de cérémonie... here is my brother-in-law's debut story about a favorite gastronomical pastime. Read it here in French (and soon in English).
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~References~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
la veste (f) = jacket; la plume (f) = feather (pen); une écritoire (f) = portable writing desk; Marcel = Marcel Pagnol,
Good news: The book "Lonely Planet Provence" lists "Words in a French Life" as essential reading! Thank you for ordering a copy of either book.
~~~~~~~~~~~~Shopping~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Writers Paris: A Guided Journey For The Creative Soul
My Father's Glory & My Mother's Castle: Marcel Pagnol's Memories of Childhood
Spotted in France: A Dog's Life...On the Road
Moleskin Paris Notebook: "The future is unwritten. Take up your pen and shape it."
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For more online reading: The Lost Gardens: A Story of Two Vineyards and a Sobriety