Lise's Lens: March 27, 2025

Welcome back! I hope everyone had fabulous spring breaks! I was able to finish an exquisite book by Patrick Modiano, enjoy an “overlooked obituary,” and cheer on our robotics team at their very exciting competition!

WHAT I’M READING
 
  • Over the break I was able to finish La danseuse by Patrick Modiano (Nobel Prize in Literature in 2014). This is a short and exquisite book. I was impressed by the distinct voice of the narrator, and the way the author was able to play with time, memory and melancholy. I also thought Modiano was effective in excluding key details right at the moment when the reader was expecting a big reveal, drawing the reader in with curiosity. I just love to see the genius of writers at work.

WHAT I’M THINKING/TALKING ABOUT
 
  • Do you read obituaries? I do. I rather enjoy those I consider well written and informative. I love to learn about people’s journeys and imagine who they were as a child versus who they are when they pass. I mean, we all have to go someday… Still, I only very recently discovered the series of obituaries run by The New York Times (NYT) called “Overlooked Obituaries.” It is a clever collection of obituaries or stories that should have been written. I saw one last week about one of my top favorite authors and books in the world, Une si longue lettre (A Very Long Letter), by Mariama Bâ. The first page is brilliant, as is the remainder of the novel. Here’s a quick teaser: it takes place around the cusp of the independence of Senegal around 1964 and involves women whose husbands are taking another wife. I wonder, who is someone you feel was overlooked and should be considered by the NYT?
 
WHAT I'M WATCHING/LISTENING TO
 
  • Right at the start of our Spring Break I attended the two day competition of our First Robotics Team at Revere High. It was a thrilling and memorable experience, with the team having perhaps its most successful season on record. Because we did so well in Revere, a group of students from our Robotics team spent their Spring Break getting the robot ready for an unexpected and exciting extra round. Kudos to them for their commitment as well as to the entire team and their teachers and mentors.
     
WHAT CAUGHT MY EYE
 
I am told this year’s student representatives for the Kakehashi project had an incredible time in Japan! What an amazing experience for all.
 
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CSW—a gender-inclusive day and boarding school for grades 9-12—is a national leader in progressive education. We live out our values of inquiry-based learning, student agency, and embracing diverse perspectives in every aspect of our student experience. Young people come to CSW to learn how to learn and then put what they learn into action—essential skills they carry into their futures as doers, makers, innovators, leaders, and exceptional humans who do meaningful work in the world.