Alice Zeniter and Pierre Ducrozet invite you from November 14 to 27 in Montauban to celebrate literature on the occasion of the 32nd edition of the Lettres d’Automne festival. Two weeks of literary encounters and scenic readings around the theme “Fiction and crossroads” chosen by the two authors.
[Partenariat] Every year, Montauban and the Tarn-et-Garonne department come alive around literature during the Letters of Autumn festival. Fifteen days of literary celebrations around which adults and children are invited to discover the artistic universe of a guest writer and the theme he has chosen.
But this year the festival welcomes not one, but two guests of honor from complementary universes: Alice Zeniter and Pierre Ducrozet. The first is, among others, the Goncourt Prize for high school students 2017 with his novel The art of losingthe other received the Prix de Flore for his work The invention of bodies (Southern Proceedings, 2017).
These two emerging voices of French literature have granted us an interview at the Théâtre Olympe de Gouges, where part of the show takes place. Interview.
Alice Zeniter : I am both a novelist and a playwright and director. I am a translator in my spare time. I write books for young people. In fact, I think I try to touch anything to do with writing and that’s one of the things we have in common with Pierre.
Peter Ducrozet : Absolutely, I also write novels, chronicles, children’s books, I’ve written a little for the cinema. I’m still waiting for the theater… I’m waiting for Alice’s proposal! I also like to write songs… Everything related to writing interests me.
This desire to touch everything is not the only common point of the two authors. There is also this “same haircut” that they point out with amusement, but also, the same vision of literature, writing and “life” in general.
Peter Ducrozet: Alice suggested this idea of crossroads, of fiction. It was the idea of going to see what is being invented in new forms of storytelling, of storytelling. We have tried to gather around us all the authors who stimulate us, who make us want to read and write, who seek out.
The festival will be especially welcome Yakuta Alikavazovich, Eric Chevillard, I love Diouf, Matthieu Gary, Maeva Le Berre, David Lopez, Anthony Passerone, Mohamed Mbougar Sarr, Wilfried N’Sonde, Rubin Steiner, Lucia Rico, Blandine Rinkel et Fanny Taillandier.
Alice Zeniter: We also wanted to be able to give space to other disciplines. It turns out we both have circus knowledge. And so, we wanted to be able to invite circus performances and demonstrate that the border between these two arts is actually porous. We also wanted to see the theatrical side, look for lyrics that weren’t entirely obvious in nature and then be able to build bridges between all these worlds. This is also the crossroads.
The program for this 32And The edition of the Lettres d’Automne therefore has great surprises in store for you, to discover all the forms of the story. Meetings with guest authors and artists, scenic readings, shows, literary concerts, exhibitions, cinema: all disciplines are in the spotlight.
Alice Zeniter: I think I have a fondness for this sort of event because it takes literature away from an object-paper/reader-reader relationship, this face-to-face relationship, which, when you don’t particularly like it, can be quite painful to live with. Bring literature back into live performances, panel discussions, or conversation circles. I find these are living forms and exchanges much easier to sustain, even to appreciate, even when it’s not for him at first.
In short, Lettres d’Automne will make you discover literature in a different way, whether you are a faithful reader or not. For do not miss it! Learn more about Autumn Letter Festival
France 3 Occitanie is a partner of the Lettres d’Automne literary festival.
