Agnès Poirier – författare

'Rich and funny' Julian Barnes, Guardian'Poirier's hugely enjoyable, quick-witted and richly anecdotal book is magnifique' The TimesA captivating portrait of those who lived, loved, fought, played and flourished in Paris between 1940 and 1950 and whose intellectual and artistic output still influences us today.After the horrors of the Second World War, Paris was the place where the world's most original voices of the time came – among them Norman Mailer, Miles Davis, Simone de Beauvoir, James Baldwin, Juliette Greco, Alberto Giacometti, Saul Bellow and Arthur Koestler. Fuelled by the elation of the Liberation, these pioneers hoped to find an alternative to the Capitalist and Communist models for life, art and politics – a Third Way.Agnès Poirier transports us to a time when Paris was at the heart of all that was new and brave and controversial, skilfully weaving together a collage of images and destinies.

A captivating portrait of those who lived, loved, fought, played and flourished in Paris between 1940 and 1950 and whose intellectual and artistic output still influences us todayAfter the horrors of the Second World War, Paris was the place where the world''s most original voices of the time came – among them Norman Mailer, Miles Davis, Simone de Beauvoir, James Baldwin, Juliette Greco, Alberto Giacometti, Saul Bellow and Arthur Koestler. Fuelled by the elation of the Liberation, they hoped to find an independent and original alternative to the Capitalist and Communist models for life, art and politics – a Third Way. These pioneers also reinvented their relationships with others, questioning, shaking and often rejecting the institutions of marriage and family. They consumed drugs, cigarettes and alcohol with passion; their heightened sexuality proved an inherent part of their creativity and permeated everything they did. The fertility of the interaction between literature, theatre, anthropology, philosophy, politics and cinema was unrivalled by anywhere else in the world at that time, and Paris seemed to be at the heart of all that was new and brave and controversial. Yet what did they achieve, these intellectuals in whom so much fierce hope had been placed? Post-war Parisian irresponsibility is as much the focus of Left Bank as political, artistic, moral and sexual incandescence. Agnès Poirier skilfully weaves together a collage of images and destinies and the voices clamour from the pages, as fresh, vital and challenging as when they first were raised.

The miraculous history of Notre Dame de Paris – its construction, near destructions and survival against all odds ‘Vivid and engrossing… the opening chapter repays the cover price.’ Observer Winner of The 2022 French Heritage Society Book Award The profound emotion felt around the world upon seeing images of Notre-Dame in flames opens up a series of questions: Why was everyone so deeply moved? Why does Notre-Dame so clearly crystallise what our civilisation is about? What makes ‘Our Lady of Paris’ the soul of a nation and a symbol of human achievement? What is it that speaks so directly to us today? In answer, Agnès Poirier turns to the defining moments in Notre-Dame’s history. Beginning with the laying of the corner stone in 1163, she recounts the conversion of Henri IV to Catholicism, the coronation of Napoleon, Victor Hugo’s nineteenth-century campaign to preserve the cathedral, Baron Haussmann’s clearing of the streets in front of it, the Liberation in 1944, the 1950s film of The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, starring Gina Lollobrigida and Anthony Quinn, and the state funeral of Charles de Gaulle, before returning to the present. The conflict over Notre-Dame’s reconstruction promises to be fierce. Nothing short of a cultural war is already brewing between the wise and the daring, the sincere and the opportunist, historians and militants, the devout and secularists. It is here that Poirier reveals the deep malaise – gilet jaunes and all – at the heart of the France.

The miraculous history of Notre Dame de Paris – its construction, near destructions and survival against all odds‘Vivid and engrossing… the opening chapter repays the cover price.’ ObserverWinner of The 2022 French Heritage Society Book AwardThe profound emotion felt around the world upon seeing images of Notre-Dame in flames opens up a series of questions: Why was everyone so deeply moved? Why does Notre-Dame so clearly crystallise what our civilisation is about? What makes ‘Our Lady of Paris’ the soul of a nation and a symbol of human achievement? What is it that speaks so directly to us today?In answer, Agnès Poirier turns to the defining moments in Notre-Dame’s history. Beginning with the laying of the corner stone in 1163, she recounts the conversion of Henri IV to Catholicism, the coronation of Napoleon, Victor Hugo’s nineteenth-century campaign to preserve the cathedral, Baron Haussmann’s clearing of the streets in front of it, the Liberation in 1944, the 1950s film of The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, starring Gina Lollobrigida and Anthony Quinn, and the state funeral of Charles de Gaulle, before returning to the present.The conflict over Notre-Dame’s reconstruction promises to be fierce. Nothing short of a cultural war is already brewing between the wise and the daring, the sincere and the opportunist, historians and militants, the devout and secularists. It is here that Poirier reveals the deep malaise – gilet jaunes and all – at the heart of the France.

Vor dem Hintergrund weltgeschichtlicher Verwerfungen erlebt Paris in den Jahren 1940 bis 1950 seine Wiedergeburt: Mit großer Erzählkunst lässt Agnès Poirier den Flair und das geistig-künstlerische Leben in einer der aufregendsten Metropolen der Welt lebendig werden. Ein unvergleichlich inspirierendes Porträt einer ganzen Epoche, deren Errungenschaften unser Dasein und Lebensgefühl bis heute revolutionieren.Im besetzten und im befreiten Paris trafen sich während und nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg die kreativsten Köpfe, die originellsten Stimmen und die leidenschaftlichsten Selbstdarsteller ihrer Generation. Sie brachen mit dem kapitalistischen System und errichteten eine antibürgerliche Gegenwelt. Bei Absinth, Pastis und Ersatzkaffee mit Sacharin fragten sie sich im Café de Flore: Wer bin ich? Wie können wir überleben? Wie wollen wir leben? Jetzt, heute, morgen, überhaupt. Mit unwiderstehlichem Charme und großer Sachkenntnis erzählt Agnès Poirier von den menschlichen Dramen, die die Entstehung großer Werke der Kunst und Literatur begleiteten: In dem magischen Jahrzehnt zwischen 1940 und 1950 wagten es de Beauvoir, Sartre, Giacometti, Picasso, Beckett, Koestler u.v.a., radikal anders zu denken, zu handeln, zu leben.Was sie damals intellektuell und künstlerisch entfalteten, prägt noch heute unser Denken und unsere Lebensweise und beeinflusst uns bis in die Art, wie wir uns kleiden und uns geben. Agnès Poirier entführt uns mitten hinein in eine Stadt mit all ihren Leidenschaften, menschlichen Tragödien und künstlerischen Triumphen.»Paris ist eine mythische Stadt, und fast keine Periode ist reicher an Mythen als das Jahrzehnt, das Agnès Poirier in ihrem ausgezeichneten Buch entfaltet.«Daily Telegraph»Agnès Poiriers umfangreiches Porträt, das die "magischen Jahre" "An denUfern der Seine" schildert, ist [...] keine Studie über Sartre oder dieSeine, sondern letztlich eine kaum verschleierte Liebeserklärung anSimone de Beauvoir. In Abwandlung eines berühmten Sartre-Titels lässtsich Poiriers Gelungene Geste so resümieren: Der Existenzialismus istein Feminismus«Eckhart Goebel, Die Welt, 20.04.2019