As I mentioned in a previous entry, on a trip to Poland as a small child I learned 15 words of Polish, including the numbers up to 10. Eleven days into my Polish studies, that basic starting knowledge is still coming in…
The book Polish Verbs & Essentials of Grammar by Oscar E. Swan begins with this: “The Polish language belongs to the Slavic group of Indo-European languages. It is most closely allied with Slovak and Czech, with many features in common…
This morning I went to a Rosetta Stone event at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel at Columbus Circle. What a view! New York As Seen from the Mandarin Oriental Hotel The purpose of the event was to announce their new TOTALe…
Today was the start of my Polish studies. One place I expect to visit a number of times in the coming months is Greenpoint, a heavily Polish neighborhood in Brooklyn. I’m afraid I didn’t know/remember this…
My focus during the last week of French was on the history book I mentioned previously, Histoire de New York, a survey of the city’s history in French, by François Weil. As I read along, I found it…
Over the past week I have been spending time reading about New York City from the point of view of French writers. It’s been going fabulously. Books are highly portable and can go anywhere. I Took a French…
I am still on a quest to locate French books in New York. It is not easy. Yes, you can check them out of Haskell Library at the French Institute Alliance Française—but what if you want to buy…
Don’t want to actually buy books? (Yep, intentional split infinitive; I believe in them.) Then go to the John & Francine Haskell Library, at the French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF). Members can check out music,…
I love bookstores and have spent a lot of time in them, but until a Google search earlier today, I had never heard of Idlewild Books, despite its foreign-literature specialty. I need to get out more. Chelsea: No Shortage of…
I am a graduate-school dropout. When I was 24, I left my Ph.D. program in comparative literature, taking what is known as a terminal M.A. Although it sounds deadly, it means simply that instead of continuing my studies as…
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