Wings: Gifts of Art, Life, and Travel in France

(Paperback)

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Description

France is steeped in refined traditions, with its rich history, exquisite art, robust culture, and varied cuisine. Writer Erin Byrne was changed by traveling around this country with the ghosts of artists and historical figures who shared with her their guides to living.
Wings: Gifts of Art, Life, and Travel in France is a collection of essays drawn from Byrnes travels across the country. From Czannes studio in Aix-en-Provence to a tiny village in the Jura Mountains, from a neighborhood bistro on the Left Bank of Paris to a plain high above the Normandy beaches, she travels through France collecting stories, characters, tastes, and secrets that act as ingredients for change, then takes those experiences and digs deeper to uncover meaning.
Henri Cartier-Bresson issues a challenge, Sainte Genevive offers resilience, Salvador Dal seduces, Picasso entertains, and a wrought iron sign portends the future. Wings is about the gifts that we all glean from our travels. This book will inspire readers to unwrap their own images and impressions in a new way.

Reviews

"Different times, different places, different muses, but toujours France. In Wings, while offering a feast of discoveries, tastes, feelings and surprises, Erin Byrne shares with us her fascination with a country that rewards those who love its idiosyncrasies as much as its delights. To join Erin Byrne on her travels is to see France through the eyes of an ever-curious and affectionate friend." --Alan Riding, author of And the Show Went On: Cultural Life in Nazi-Occupied Paris "I found myself re-reading this book with growing delight. As a writer, Erin Byrne has a graceful touch and a knack for telling captivating stories. As a traveler, she is sometimes obsessed, confused or a bit distraught. All the better for us. Byrne doesn't just see, she feels, and that makes all the difference." --Tim Cahill, author of Jaguars Ripped My Flesh and Hold the Enlightenment "Reading these beautifully crafted essays is like traveling with your best friend. Erin Byrne not only experiences France with her senses, she experiences it with her heart, rendering her impressions of the country, its art, and its people with both grace and warmth." --Janis Cooke Newman, author of A Master Plan for Rescue "Reading Wings reminds me of the memorable moments I've had riffling through boxes of old postcards and the pages of antiquarian books in the beloved green boxes of the bouquinistes along the Seine in Paris. "The serendipitous thrill that can be found discovering long-lost wonders in the bookstalls is similar to the joy found in Erin Byrne's essays about France's grand treasures, from her museums to her old bakeries, creaky bookstores, wine shops, sun-spangled cafes, the red windmills of Montmartre, and even the harrowing bullet holes left behind from past wars. Read on for this is a reverie-inducing glimpse of past and present France." --Phil Cousineau, author of The Book of Roads: A Life Made of Travel, and The Art of Pilgrimage "In her literary travels, Erin Byrne has soaked up the essence of France and drips it to her readers in wonderful vignettes that make up Wings. Masterfully weaving personal reminiscences with history, culture, and personages, both famous and unknown, Byrne has created a mini tour of the nation and its most significant times that will enchant the reader while it enlightens them. "From the landing beaches of Normandy to apartment walls that relate their own intimate memories, Wings bares the soul of a country and is a dream read for any Francophile." --James Michael Dorsey, author of Vanishing Tales from Ancient Trails "Anyone who has ever fallen in love with a place will find a kindred soul in Erin Byrne, an irresistible bon vivant whose appetite for the art, culture, cuisine, history and traditions of France is second only to her devotion to the craft of storytelling. This is a must read for anyone traveling to France. Byrne's prose reads like a love story, flooding her reader's senses with France's triumphs and tragedies, and some of its more beloved characters, from Madame Simone Renaud to Henri Cartier-Bresson to George Whitman. "Even if Byrne hadn't divulged that she was once a teacher, her ability to impart learning through her stories with so much joie de vivre gives her away. By the end of this book, you will have received a crash course in French history, art, and culture unlike anything else." --Jayme Moye, 2014 Travel Journalist of the Year "Erin Byrne's Wings presents a mosaic of storytelling as vivid, compelling, and rich as the City of Light itself. It's almost impossible to stop reading. Of course I'm partial to 'Ave Metro'--her masterful rendering of what it feels like to discover, then rediscover, the power of music--but Byrne's lyric writing and eye for detail make every story a standout. What time is the next flight to Paris" --Nancy David Kho, writer, MidlifeMixtape.com "After reading Wings I can't imagine going much longer without a trip to France. I was hungry for everything while I read it; the perfect baguette, the scented breeze of the Luxembourg gardens...everything. Byrne is a master at the art of travel writing that transports and enchants. Byrne's eloquent prose is the perfect cadeau for Francophiles and armchair travelers; she captures the smells, tastes, and memories of her beloved France in a book you will not want to put down." --Jennifer Hillman-Magnuson, award-winning author of Peanut Butter & Naan: Stories of an American Mom in the Far East

Author Bio

Erin Byrne writes travel essays, poetry, fiction and screenplays. Her work has won numerous awards including three Grand Prize Solas Awards for Travel Story of the Year, the Reader's Favorite Award, Foreword Reviews Book of the Year Finalist, and an Accolade Award for film. Erin is the author of Wings: Gifts of Art, Life, and Travel in France, editor of Vignettes & Postcards From Paris, Vignettes & Postcards From Morocco, and writer of The Storykeeper film. She is an occasional guest instructor at Shakespeare and Company Bookstore in Paris and on Deep Travel trips. Her screenplay, Siesta, is in pre-production in Spain, and she is working on the novel, The Red Notebook. You can visit her website at e-byrne.com.