After his departure
What is her name? What can she possibly be thinking about?
The first time I saw her, she was gracing the cover of an English translation of Zola’s Nana. She never seemed quite at home there. This was no courtesan, but a woman plunged deep in reminiscence after her lover has gone. Then I found out she really lived in the Musée d’Orsay. I always pay her a visit if I am in the surroundings. The last time I was there, I found a young man observing her. She seemed undisturbed by his presence, remaining as pensive as if she had been alone. I said “She is beautiful, isn’t she?” He answered “I only come here for her.” It is a quite lovely thing to share such a moment with a stranger. However briefly, beauty connected us in the world.
Notice the refinement of the details: the careless ease with which she holds the roses, the sumptuous patina of the copper tub, the watch resting negligently in the shell-like soap holder, the book left open on the pile of towels -I wonder at what page and what word left her so thoughtful- the gleam of her gold bangle…all conveying such an atmosphere of elegance and comfort, I can almost feel the warmth of the bath water!
michèle Voltaire Marcelin
Alfred Stevens (1823-1906) was a Belgian painter who lived in Paris from 1852 on. He was a friend of Manet and was influenced by Japanese prints, as were so many French artists of the time. His chief subjects, painted with admirable technique and color, were society women in their fashionable Parisian interiors. “Alfred Stevens is one of the race of great painters,” wrote Camille Lemonnier, “and like them he takes immense pains with the execution of his work.”
Archives
Subscribe to Lidous via Email
jmc strategies
- Primer on the Anti-Immigrant Forces Determined to Hijack American Politics
- Immigration: Waiting for Godot Need Not Be Policy
- Baby Doc is Dead, Duvalierism Lives On
- Human Rights in Haiti in the Manigat Era
- Dealing With Statelessness in the Dominican Republic
- Haiti: It Started with a Bang…
- The Duvalier Case: What Is at Stake at the Court of Appeals
- Another day of reckoning for Jean Claude Duvalier?
- Will Duvalier’s Victims Have Their Day in Court?
- Will Duvalier Regain Access to Illicit Funds Pilfered from the Haitian Treasury?
Michèle Voltaire Marcelin is a poet/writer, performer and painter who was born and raised in Haiti, sojourned in Chile, and currently lives in the United States. The publication of her first novel “La Désenchantée” (CIDIHCA, Montréal-2006) was followed by its Spanish translation “La Desencantada” and two other books of poetry and prose: “Lost and Found” and “Amours et Bagatelles” (CIDIHCA, Montréal-2009) - translated into Spanish by Editorial ALBA as "Amores y cosas sin importancia" - all of which garnered rave reviews. Her writings are also featured in 3 anthologies published in France: "Cahier Haiti" (published by RAL'M-2009), "Terre de Femmes" (Editions Bruno Doucey-2011) "Revue Intranqu'îllités" (2012). She speaks and writes fluently French, English, Spanish and Haitian Creole. She has a BFA from the Leonard Davis Center for the Performing Arts at CUNY and a Masters from The New School for Social Research.
Leave a Comment