Suzanne Savoy performs staged readings of The Book of Poissy, her translation of Christine de Pizan's Le Livre du Dit de Poissy. The 2,075-line love-judgment poem, written and published in 1400 CE, is edited to a 90-minute reading accompanied by music on lute and a vibrant slide show. 

 

The Book of Poissy is a love-judgment poem in the style of Guillaume de Machaut, but in a surprising turn, Christine uses the courtly form to question chivalric practices and expectations,  particularly for their effects on women's lives and well-being. The first third of the poem describes a visit to the Royal Priory of St. Louis at Poissy, where Christine and her noble friends visit her daughter. The remainder of the poem is devoted to the accounts of two of Christine's companions describing their disastrous love lives. While the poem tasks readers/listeners with choosing which courtier is the saddest, Christine slyly leaves another question hanging in the air: Which is more advantageous to women, a courtly love life under the rules and expectations of chivalric code, or a contemplative life within a fairly autonomous religious order?

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Slide projections show related illuminations, photos of the priory's ruins at Poissy, flora described by Christine in the dit, and representations of people and events described in the story. 

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Q&A follows, and Ms. Savoy is also available for classroom visits and discussion.​​ She is currently preparing the full translation of Poissy for print publication and as a voice recording.

 

Please use the contact form on the home page to request details for booking The Book of Poissy for your organization. ​​