Bob Wilson

11/21/19 • 27 min

One steaming hot July morning, our team piled into a car to the Hamptons, in Long Island. No, we weren’t going to the beach, or to someone’s luxurious mansion––even better––we were headed to The Watermill Center, an arts Mecca created by legendary theater director Bob Wilson. The Center is a buzzing, symbiotic hive where artists not only harness the tools to reach creative bliss but pitch in with natural cooking and upkeep of the verdant grounds. Our tour brought us to Bob’s apartment, decorated with unique sculptures from all over the world, past his extra large bed with pristine white sheets, and into a gorgeous veranda, where we recorded this episode. We spoke about André Malraux, experimental theater, and France’s cultural policy.

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Rick Moody

At the French Embassy we have an award called the Arts and Letters Award, where we effectively “Knight” people for their contributions to French culture. When author Rick Moody was next up to receive it, we knew we had to organize a podcast episode to get his take on France. In characteristic French extravagance, we ended up organizing a marathon evening that included an award ceremony, a podcast recording, and even a conversation at our bookstore, Albertine. That afternoon, Rick strolled into my office in his signature hat and radiating positive energy.

The conversation centered on French theory, the American reaction to the Charlie Hebdo attacks, and the benefits of creative constraints in writing.

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John von Sothen

John von Sothen is an American magazine writer based in Paris, where he’s lived since 2002. He dabbles a little in French TV and comedy, too. When I started talking to him for this podcast, I forgot that I’d never met him before. That’s because last year John wrote a memoir that was so hilarious, so warm, and so personal that I felt as if we’d known each other for ages, though we’d never even been in the same room. Luckily, he’s American, not French, so I don’t think my informality shocked him! His book was called Monsieur Mediocre: One American Learns the High Art of Being Everyday French. In it he lays out the mysterious rules of French social behavior, which he’s decoded during his years in France first by breaking them, then by learning to roll with them.