Vignettes & Postcards: Writings from the Evening Workshop at Shakespeare and Company Bookstore, Paris, Fall 2011

by Erin Byrne (Editor), Anna Pook (Editor)

Vignettes & Postcards is an exquisite collection of stories by writers from all over the world who gathered at Shakespeare and Company Bookstore in the fall of 2011. Since its doors opened in 1951, writers and artists have come to Shakespeare and Company from every corner of the globe for sanctuary, community, and inspiration. Anyone who has spent time there-from the thousands of tumbleweeds who have worked there in exchange for a place to stay to the many famous authors who have at one point called it home-knows that something other happens when writers gather there and begin to create. These stories shimmer with this quality. Vignettes & Postcards: Writings from The Evening Writing Workshop at Shakespeare and Company Bookstore, Paris, Fall 2011 presents twenty-six stories in a variety of genres-short fiction, personal essay, interview, travel, and poetry. The book is an anthology from the workshop "Leaping Into the Void," taught by award-winning writer Erin Byrne. Taste rough grains of cinnamon that scratch the tip of your tongue; feel the weight of a pen in your hand during a moment of pure inspiration; hear the pealing of bells from high up on an Italian hillside; consider the secret rebellion of fashion; and find yourself inside the dragon dream of Sylvia Plath. Tumbleweed or not, every reader who opens its pages will savor Vignettes & Postcards.

113 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Erin Byrne is the author of Wings: Gifts of Art, Life, and Travel in France, editor of Vignettes & Postcards from Paris and Vignettes & Postcards from Morocco, and writer of The Storykeeper film. Her work has won numerous awards which include three Grand Prize Solas Awards for Travel Story of the Year, the Reader’s Favorite Award, Foreword Indies Book of the Year, and an Accolade Award for film.
Erin has taught writing at Shakespeare and Company Bookstore in Paris, at Book Passage, Sausalito, and on Deep Travel trips. She is host of the LitWings event series at Book Passage, Sausalito, which features internationally well-known writers, photographers, and filmmakers. Erin hosts literary salons in the Bay Area and Paris, and is on the Board of Advisors of Litcamp, the renowned juried writers’ conference.
Erin is working on Illuminations, a novel set in the Ritz Paris during the occupation, her screenplay Siesta is in pre-production in Spain, and she will teach “Deep Travel Andalusia, In Search of Duende”, in the caves of Granada in March, 2018. www.e-byrne.com.

Reviews

[Andrea Stoeckel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book as a giveaway from GoodReads/First Reads. I thank the editor and the distributor for their generousity. This in no way affected my opinions, which, as usual, are 100% my own.

This wonderful gem of a book starts with great cover art that invites you to look around much as you puruse a great bookstore. Each piece is a snippet of the life and refections of the author. It is a book to sip and savor or devour in one sitting as I did. It would be a book that could be used in literacy programs, workshops and/or classrooms. It will not stay sitting on a shelf but come out "to play" frequently.

[Carolyn Keel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book through first reads giveaways, and I really enjoyed it. It took me a while to read it simply because fall is a very busy time of the year for me, but I could easily see this book being read in one sitting. However, I think reading it piecemeal actually made me enjoy and appreciate it more because it gives it a diary-like feel that adds to the already great content of the book.

Also, the book was very visually pleasing. The cover is gorgeous, and the vignettes are interspersed with photographs that are just lovely to look at.

The stories are written by a variety of people from all walks of life, and the diversity is evident in the content and style of each piece. I think the wide variety of work adds more flavor to the book than a simple collection of works by one author would have. Very enjoyable read.

[Haven Gordon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book as a part of Goodreads Firstreads giveaway. I've never read a book quite like this before and found it very unique. I have to agree with another reviewer, this book is best read a little bit at a time. Reading it all in one sitting kind of takes away some of the beauty of the authors' works. Think of it as drinking a delicious hot tea. Savor the moments rather than gulping it down! I really enjoyed the book!

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a wonderful little book full of short stories, musings, reflections, and photos. I could have read this book in a sitting but instead spaced it out like a box of treats. I had the most fun imagining what it would be like to be a writer in Paris, attending a writing workshop in a quaint little book shop. This sounds like a dream come true for any creative mind!

[Alisia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pretty good book filled with lots of neat short stories. This is good for anyone who is looking for something different.