Judy Wells reading at Au Coquelet, Berkeley, 1984. California. Photo by Gary Nicholson.

I was a French major in college—M. Poirier’s influence—and in my senior year studied in Nantes, France, where I took several courses in French poetry.  One stands out, a complete course on Apollinaire’s Alcools.  I think it was the first time I read an entire collection of someone’s poetry, rather than just excerpts.  I still remember the opening lines of the book: 

“A la fin tu es las de ce monde ancien

Bergère ô tour Eiffel le troupeau des ponts

bèle ce matin.” 



The French Connection

by Judy Wells

I was a French major at Stanford University, highly influenced by my high school French teacher, M. Gerard Poirier, who played Edith Piaf tunes in class, introduced us to escargots in a French restaurant in San Francisco, and did a wonderful imitation of Maurice Chevalier.   

How could I not be a French major! During my sophomore year at Stanford, I was thrilled to live Tours, France, chateaux country, for six months with 80 other Stanford students. French studies became harder. Proust! During my senior year, I spent six months in Nantes, France with a much smaller group of dedicated French majors.

We took several courses in French poetry.  One stands out, a complete course on Apollinaire’s Alcools.  I think it was the first time I read an entire collection of someone’s poetry, rather than just excerpts.  I still remember the opening lines of the book:  “A la fin tu es las de ce monde ancien/ Bergère ô tour Eiffel le troupeau des ponts bèle ce matin.”

I did not pursue a career teaching French, but a fortuitous circumstance brought the French connection back into my life many years later.  Dale Jensen (my future husband) and I were walking down rue des Écoles in Paris in 1995, and I was intrigued by a small art gallery filled with contemporary French women’s art.  There I met the organizer of the exhibit, a vibrant, elegant Parisian woman, Laurence Moréchand, Docteur ès lettres et Sciences Humaines.

Laurence and I hit it off, partially because she had done her Ph.D. at the Sorbonne on “Le muralisme chicano aux États-Unis: San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego (1968-1988)”, had taught in the U.S. at Tufts and was fluent in English, but also because we shared a similar plight: that of the exploited part-time college teacher.

I had brought my prose-poem collection The Part-time Teacher (Rainy Day Women Press) with me, gave Laurence a copy, and was astonished to read my first serious review (in French!) in Laurence’s magazine, Femmes Artistes International, #16, 1995. 

Laurence’s magazine focused on women artists, writers, dancers, singers, etc. who she felt had not received their due in the press.  She also wrote two other major articles on my work in two subsequent issues of her magazine (#22, 1997 and #31, 1999, including a photo of me in Ireland on the cover), and I am forever grateful to her for taking my and other women’s work seriously.

Finally, Laurence arranged a poetry reading for me and Dale Jensen at the famous Parisian bookstore, Shakespeare & Co., working with the eccentric George Whitman, in May 2001. I read from my poetry book, Everything Irish (Scarlet Tanager Books) and Dale read from his book, Twisted History (Malthus Press). We still have the poster Laurence made for the reading, framed by my friend Bridget Connelly, hanging in our Berkeley home. 

Judy Wells' poetry has been reviewed in three issues of the French journal, Femmes Artistes International (Paris) edited by Laurence Moréchand, Docteur ès Lettres et Sciences Humaines.(Octobre-Décembre 1995 #16, Avril-Juin 1997 #22, Juillet-Septembre 1999 #31).



Laurence Moréchand and Judy Wells in Paris, 2001.