WELCOME TO TVL 297, FALL 2010

Madame de Staël

Madame de Staël

Anne Louise Germaine de Staël was born to Swiss parents Jacques and Suzanne Necker in April 1766 in Paris, France. There are many connections that people make with Madame de Staël's name--perhaps they think of Napoleon, who was displeased with her for her lack of support during his regime--and yet he still kept an eye on her, unable to forget about her.
Perhaps they think of her father, Director of Louis XVI's treasury. He was, in many ways, the true love of her life, such was her devotion to him.
They may also think of her mother, Madame Necker's, famous salon, where the young Germaine often spent time amongst it's members, including Voltaire. By the age of thirteen, Madame Necker was sending critiques to Germaine on the quality of her work.
However, what she should be most well-known for is her literary salon at her family home in Nyons, Switzerland, the Chateau Coppet. Still owned by her descendants to this day, Coppet was a place where Germaine gathered the brightest minds around her in order that they may entertain, inspire, and learn from each other. Guests included Lord Byron, Chateaubriand, the Countess of Albany, Andrew Bell, and Ludwig of Bavaria.
She was also an author of many books, including Corinne, and held in much regard for her writing-both at the time and following. While she believed that women were in some ways lesser than men, she did not see herself as part of this idea, and acted very much as their equal- politically, intellectually, etc. It was her unique upbringing in her mother's salon which most likely fostered this strong sense of self, and this strong woman whose own salon would attract so many famous male writers and thinkers of the time.

Chateau Coppet

La Chaux de-Fonds

Streets criss-cross and intersect cutting through the city like stripes on a plaid shirt. However, these girded streets we traversed were not of some North American city, it was in La Chaux de-Fonds, Switzerland in the heart of Europe. Though it shouldn’t feel out of the ordinary for me, I found it difficult to reconcile the European facades with the American planning style. The city of La Chaux de-Fonds chose to have a gridded system after a fire destroyed the town in the late 18^th century. When walking along the street I noticed at least three episodes where vehicle accidents nearly occurred. I was a bit surprised because generally the drivers of the French- speaking part of Switzerland had appeared to be better than their Ticinese counterparts. However upon further examination of the road I noticed more oddities.

First, the streets instead of having traffic lights only had stop signs. This would have been all well and good if the streets weren’t heavily used, but even in the mid-afternoon the streets were rather well traveled. This concern of safety was reflected in that the stop signs had blinking lights coupled with a clearly marked line dictating where motorists should stop. This line was the second feature that worried me as it was a good meter and a half after the stop sign. This penetrated the road just enough space where one could lose a headlight to a vehicle coming down the steep road above. I suppose the locals adapt but drivers from nearby cantons appeared to be having a more difficult time. I do not believe they were accustomed to the mixture of grid layout and European driving styles.

But La Chaux de-Fonds isn’t only notable for being a city with the grid system but it also is a UNESCO World Heritage status for its monoculture watch industry. Marx certainly would have been proud of the city where the people own the means of their production. All social ideology aside, I am fascinated by its political and social identity and would loved to have learned more about it. What a strange and interesting specimen of political and economic character. To have an entire town focused on a single industry in this day in age is truly intriguing. The watch museum we visited gave an excellent history relating to the development of the watch making industry. What is truly telling of the Swiss is how quality and innovation in the face of competition have allowed this country to remain at the top of the watch making market despite its high cost of manufacturing.

Although the industry in La Chaux de-Fonds is so quintessentially Swiss the rest of the city felt so very un-Swiss. As a resident of Switzerland for three plus years I am always surprised and reminded that there are few characteristics I can call Swiss. The levels of nationalism, regionalism, and localism make it difficult to decidedly define anything as being Swiss. The history and experiences of the various regions continue to permeate even though some of these original identities formed some 800 years ago when the Swiss confederation began to form. Though this point is often belabored it is still important when trying to adapt to the country. Sometimes the Swiss French are just as confused in Ticino as Americans are. The linguistic barriers coupled with the culture differences make Switzerland as a whole very indigestible in one bite. La Chaux de-Fonds proves this. Though I have been to 20 of the 26 cantons there are still gems like the La Chaux de-Fonds to prove I am as ignorant as the day I stepped into the country. This is good news for it reminds me to adventure on.

--Michael Thomas

Anne Deriaz

We first met Anne Deriaz the day we arrived in Saint-Luc when she was kind enough to invite us over for some hot tea and home-made biscuits. How could you say no to that? It was only about ten minutes of walking out in the crisp, clean air and we all started freezing! So getting invited for tea was the highlight of our day.

We approached a small, wooden chatlet overlooking the mountains with Tibetan flags hung around the perimeter. As we entered the chatlet, a small old woman appeared around the corner with a smile on her face greeting and welcoming everyone into her home. I remember when we all sat down and got cozy, Anne Deriaz exclaimed, "So this is how a writer lives!" And let me tell you it really was. Residing in a small chatket with no noises or distractions and looking out to a sun setting down on the snow-capped mountains, this indeed was a perfect homelife for a writer. Looking around I noticed pictures of people that she has met during her trips such as the Dalai Lama that were hung up on the walls. I was quite blown away.

Blaise Cendrars

It is very possible that, in fact, we do not know anything about Blaise Cendrars. He is truly a man of mystery; a man with no roots, and a man with no country. The name ‘Blaise Cendrars’ is a creation, a pseudonym for Frédéric Louis Sauser (The name is a mixture of the words “braise” or ember, and “cendres” or ashes). When Sauser took on the name of Cendrars, he surrendered his former identity, including the background and history of the man once called Sauser. The following is thus an account of the life of Blaise Cendrars.

Blaise Cendrars was born in La Chaux-de-Fonds to a Scottish mother and a Swiss father on September 1st, 1887. At the age of 15, the young man was enrolled in a boarding school in Neuchatel, which he quickly abandoned and subsequently ran away to Russia. In Saint Petersburg, Cendrars took on an apprenticeship with a local Swiss watchmaker. Cendrars began to write while in Russia. The young man spent a great deal of time in the Imperial Library, where he read the works great travel writers such as Marco Polo. Cendrars had a habit of jotting his thoughts and feelings of particular passages down in the margins of the books he read, and such actions were quickly noticed by the Imperial librarian; A man only referred to as ‘R.R.’ in the reflections of Cendrars. R.R. encouraged the young Cendrars to pursue writing seriously, thus potentially saving the books of the Imperial Library from further graffiti. Cendrars wrote his first poem, “La Legende de Novgorod”, which was inspired by the sights and folklore of the Russian city just outside of Saint Petersburg. R.R., as a congratulatory gift for Cendrars, translated the poem into Russian.

In 1907, Cendrars returned to Switzerland to pursue a medical degree in Bern. He only stayed for three years; in 1910 Cendrars had moved to France where he adopted French citizenship. Cendrars travelled extensively during this period in his life, and his adventures were often sources of inspiration for his writing. In 1911 Cendrars took a year-long trip to New York City to visit a friend and by the end of his travel Cendrars had run out of money and had no place to stay. His spell as a homeless man inspired his long poem “Les Pâques à New York” which he signed for the first time as “Blaise Cendrars”. After his experiences in New York, Cendrars became obsessed with the pursuit of what he called ‘exotic experiences’ in his travels (which usually involved uncomfortable situations or a great deal of suffering); He saw such hardships in travel as inspiration for his writing.

Lausanne

Friday, October 15: we were sent on a scavenger hunt throughout Lausanne. Mira, Hillary, Ben and Sachint and I were in a group (Code names: McLovin, whut?, Cap’n Awesome, Pay-oh, and TheSweetness). This was the perfect occasion to get to know a small group of people better, while at the same time, exploring a totally new town. In this scavenger hunt, we needed to identify train timetables, ask about contemporary Swiss writers’ works at the Payot bookstore, investigate the St. François church, learn about photographers of the Elysée Museum, find a hidden cemetery in the beautiful Olympic gardens, learn about the Thai pavilion, and find postcards while following the lake path to the town of Ouchy, among other things.

I gave Hillary ample opportunity to practice her French, which was very effective in getting us where we needed to go. The directions we got, however, were not. We got directions from a Spanish taxi driver, a German tourist, and a businessman who did not know about the parks and cemeteries within the Olympic Museum Gardens. In order to get back to the designated meeting spot on time, our group was not able to finish the entire scavenger hunt (that, and because some of the questions were difficult!). Our group came in last, but being last was the last thing on our tired minds, since we had so much fun.

After that, our first priority was food, so it was a good thing that there was a kebab stand in the city center. That was one of the best kebabs I’ve ever tasted, dripping with the aroma of success. All in all, this hunt was an adventure, and a fantastic way to get to know Lausanne. That day was one of the most exciting and inspiring. I don’t think I’m the only one who will be coming back to Lausanne very soon.

--Ashley Fils-Aimé