Exhibition alert: In Where the Light Falls, I had one of my characters report briefly on an excursion to the Cirque Fernando, where his party saw Miss La La hang by her teeth from a trapeze. The incident was, of course, inspired by Degas' painting, Miss La La at the Cirque Fernando. I didn't actually dramatize the visit, and I'm glad now that I didn't; for it was only this spring that I learned from Denise Murrell that the performer in Degas' painting was biracial. If I could, I would now go to the new exhibition, Discover Degas and Miss La La at the National Gallery in London! The whole matter of Black people's experience in Paris in the 19th C is a rich area for exploration by historians in many fields and fiction writers alike.
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