Walk - Pete's Newsletter - Issue #37
Book of the Week
Life can change so swiftly. It is harrowing to read this memoir telling the story of Jews fleeing Paris in 1940 as the Nazis pushed forward to its boundaries. There is a clear mood of rationalization and normalization from the author as he leaves Paris for the mountains, thinking that he can simply "leave the war behind." But he soon finds himself faced with a new reality, a world changed in a sunrise, now one of millions, left with nothing, fleeing a catastrophe, leaving everyone and everything behind, trying to guide his family to safety, in increasingly unfamiliar times.
Song of the Week
I've had this one on repeat.
History of the Week
I recently learned about the history of Occitan- a language consisting of many dialects once spoken by people throughout France, Catalonia and Italy, and understood by millions across Europe. It is one of the great romance languages that as recently as the 19th century was the basis of many dialects that were primary to the majority of French citizens.
It was systematically eliminated by governments who sought to tie language to Nation-states, leaving no room for a language that naturally existed across boundaries. The French dialect spoken in the north, in Paris, was weaponized as the true language of the French people and the history of Occitan has been buried and suppressed.
Surprise of the Week
Who knew The Rolling Stones wrote an original song in the mid-60s about Rice Krispies? Not bad.