Born in Paris, France in 1938, Monique Saigal-Escudero is an Emerita Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures at Pomona College. At just three years old, during the peak of Hitler’s reign in Europe, her grandmother threw her on a train headed for a small city in Southwestern France: an act that ultimately saved her life. Her passion for storytelling would soon bring her back to this history, and once again place her grandmother’s courageousness front and center in her life.
Tag: France
Word for Word: The allure of ‘Bonjour Tristesse’
After an improbable book recommendation from her grandpa, Anna R. Naigeborin PO ’28 wonders if a book written by a teenager in 1954 could move her teenage self in 2024. The charm of “Bonjour Tristesse,” she finds, holds true even 70 years later.
American in Paris: Love language(s)
As a student studying abroad in France, TSL columnist Tania Azhang PZ ‘25 is ruminating on the role of language in her experience.
American in Paris: Franco-Iranian-American Cultural Fusion
In the age of the Internet, how different can going from America to France be? Study abroad columnist Tania Azhang PZ ‘25 contemplates cultural similarities and differences, and comes to an enlightened conclusion.
Claremont Core: In Defense of the ‘uniform’
Are you an outfit repeater? Do you feel ashamed when you repeat an outfit? Columnist Gus Gingrich PO ’24, against his better judgement, became extremely attached to a pair of jeans.
Literary wanderings: Getting lost in Lyon
Book columnist Ryan Lillestrand PZ ’23 praises Bill Buford’s “Dirt” for its vivid imagery and reflects on the merits of the modern personal narrative.
Outside the box office: ‘I Lost My Body’ teaches you to take life into your own hands
Film columnist Hannah Avalos PO ’21 discusses the French Netflix film “I Lost My Body,” and why it can help viewers who feel purposeless. “‘I Lost My Body’ … teaches us that we’re not beholden to the world. When it seems the whole world is falling apart around us, we can still do something about it,” she writes.