French Literature in the Making

La Maison Française, New York University
16 Washington Mews, New York, NY 10003

The Florence Gould Lectures

FRENCH LITERATURE IN THE MAKING

Simultaneous translation into English available.

A series of evenings with new French writers speaking about their work in conversation with

OLIVIER BARROT

Olivier Barrot
Photo credit: Allison Maguy

Olivier Barrot is a man of many facets. A TV personality, he hosts the daily literary show Un Livre, un jour (France 3, TV 5 ), in which he interviews well-known literary figures. Editor-in-Chief of the cultural magazine Senso, he is also the author of numerous books on literature, cinema, and travel.

His recent works include: Noir et Blanc (with Raymond Chirat, 2000); Lettres d'Amérique (with Philippe Labro, 2001); Je ne suis pas là (2004); and Voyage au pays des salles obscures (with Alain Bouldouyre, 2006).

The lectures start at 7:00 pm unless indicated otherwise.

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CECILE GUILBERT	*Monday, September 24, 2007* Cécile Guilbert, an essayist, is author of Saint-Simon ou l'encre de la subversion (1994); and Pour Guy Debord (1996). L'écrivain le plus libre (2004) is a mixture of biography, commentary, and imaginary dialogue, highlighting the character of the English libertine pastor, Laurence Sterne (1713-1768). Her forthcoming work is entitled Surviving Andy Warhol. She is also the author of the novel Le Musée National. Watch the video
CLAUDE ARNAUD	*Monday, October 22, 2007* Claude Arnaud is a novelist, biographer and essayist, winner in 2006 of the Prix Femina de l'Essai for his work Qui dit je en nous ? His first novel, Le Caméléon, received the Prix Femina du premier roman in 2004. His other works include Chamfort (1988); Le Jeu des quatre coins (1998); and, a biography, Jean Cocteau (2003). Watch the video
CLEMENCE BOULOUQUE	*Monday, Novembre 19, 2007* Clémence Boulouque is a novelist and the winner of the 2003 Prix Fénéon for her first novel, Mort d'un silence (2003), which deals with her childhood and her father's death. It has been adapted into a film by William Karel, entitled La Fille du Juge. Her books include Sujets libres (2004); Le Goût de Tanger (2004); Au Pays des Macarons (2005); Chasse à Courre (2005); and recently Nuit ouverte (2007). She is also a literary reviewer for Le Figaro and France Culture. Watch the video
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JEAN ECHENOZ	*Monday, February 11, 2008* Novelist Jean Echenoz is the winner of several literary prizes: the Prix Médicis for Cherokee (1983); the Prix Novembre for Les grandes blondes (1995); and the Prix Goncourt for Je m’en vais (1999). His other books include Le Méridien de Greenwich (1979); Nous trois (1995); L’Equipée malaise (1999); Jérôme Lindon (2001), an homage to his publisher. A number of his works have been translated into English, including his most recent novel, Ravel (2006). Watch the video
A Linda Lê Evening featuring Olivier Barrot	Monday, March 3, 2008 With Tom Bishop, Esther Allen, and Jacqueline Chambord Linda Lê, a writer and literary historian, left her native Vietnam for France at the age of 14 after the fall of Saigon. Her first novel, Un si tendre vampire (1986), was published when she was just 23 years old. Her works include Les Evangiles du crime (1992); Calomnies (1993); Les Dits d’un Idiot (1995); Les Trois Parques (1998); Lettre morte (1999); Voix (1999); Les Aubes (2000); Autres Jeux avec le Feu (2002); and Personne (2003). Her latest novel, In Memoriam, was shortlisted for both the Prix Femina and the Prix Médicis in 2007. Watch the video
MICHEL SCHNEIDER	*Monday, May 5, 2008* Michel Schneider is a writer as well as a magistrate at the Cour des Comptes, a psychoanalyst, and a former Director of Music at the French Ministry of Culture. His 2006 novel, Marilyn, dernières séances, based on the myth of Marilyn Monroe, was awarded the Prix Interallié. Other books include Glenn Gould, piano solo (1988); La Tombée du jour (1989); Maman (1999); Big Mother (2003); and Morts imaginaires (2003), awarded the Prix de l’Essai Médicis. Watch the video
SYLVAIN TESSON Photo credit: Allison Maguy	*Monday, September 8, 2008* The author, Sylvain Tesson, is a geographer and a world traveler. On foot, on bicycle, and on horseback, he has explored the steppes of Central Asia, Siberia, and many other areas of the earth that have been relatively neglected. He has published numerous accounts of his expeditions and his Petit traité sur l'immensité du monde (Equateurs, 2005) and Eloge de l'énergie vagabonde (Equateurs, 2006) have been hailed as veritable manifestos. Sylvain Tesson is an honorary member of the Institut de Recherche sur les Expériences Extraordinaires and a member of the Executive Committee of the French Society of Explorers.
BENOIT DUTEURTRE	Monday, October 13 Writer and music critic Benoît Duteurtre is the author of numerous, widely translated novels, including: L’Amoureux malgré lui (1989); Tout doit disparaître (1992); Gaieté parisienne (1996); Le Voyage en France (Prix Médicis 2001); Service clientèle (2003); La Petite Fille et la cigarette (2005); and La Cité heureuse (2007). His most recent book, Les Pieds dans l’eau (2008) was shortlisted for the Prix Renaudot. Also a musician, he is the producer and presenter of “Etonnez-moi Benoît,” a weekend music program on France Musique.
MARIE NIMIER	Monday, November 10, 2008 Marie Nimier is widely acclaimed as a writer in multiple genres. She has written extensively for the stage, has penned lyrics for several composers, has written works for children and young adults. But she is best known as a novelist. Her first novel, Sirène earned her prizes both from the Académie Française and the Société des Gens de Lettres (1985); for La Reine du silence, an evocation of her father, the novelist Roger Nimier, she was awarded the Prix Médicis (2004). Other novels (all at Gallimard) include La Girafe, Vous dansez ?, and, this fall, Les Inséparables (Prix Georges Brassens).
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ERIC FOTTORINO	Monday, February 9, 2009 Eric Fottorino is a widely read novelist and journalist, and director of the Le Monde group. He has published numerous volumes of fiction and non-fiction, which earned him coveted prizes, especially for his novels, including the Prix Europe 1 and Prix des Bibliothécaires for Un territoire fragile 2000, the Prix François Mauriac de l'Académie française for Caresse de rouge, 2004, the Prix France Télévisions for Korsakov, 2004 and the Prix Femina for Baisers de cinéma, 2007. Other books by Eric Fottorino include Cœur d'Afrique, 1998, Le Tiers sauvage, 2005, and Petit éloge de la bicyclette, 2007.
FREDERIC MITTERRAND	Monday, April 13, 2009 Frédéric Mitterrand is one of the best known and most versatile figures in the French world of media. Immensely successful as actor, screenwriter, television presenter, producer and director, he is undoubtedly most popular for his film adaptation of the opera Madame Butterfly, his television documentaries and talk shows, and his celebrated culture programs on French radio. He has written a number of books on history and film (Mémoires d'exil; Les aigles foudroyés; four volumes of Destins d'étoiles; Les années de Gaulle), as well as more personal works such as tous désirs confondus and especially his recent La mauvaise vie, which earned him quasi unanimous praise. In June 2008, Frédéric Mitterrand was appointed director of the prestigious French Academy in Rome (the Villa Medici) by President Sarkozy.
CHARLES DANTZIG Photo credits: Paul Delort/ Le Figaro	Monday, September 21, 2009 Best known as a novelist and essayist, Charles Dantzig has also translated F. Scott Fitzgerald and Oscar Wilde. His novel Nos vies hâtives (2001) won both the Prix Roger Nimier and the Prix Jean Freustié; his oddly named Dictionnaire égoïste de la littérature française earned him three major prizes in 2005: the Grand Prix des Lectrices de Elle, the non-fiction prize of the Académie Française, and the Prix Décembre. Other works include Un film d’amour (2003), Je m’appelle François (2007) and the even more oddly named Encyclopédie capricieuse du tout et du rien (2009).
CATHERINE CUSSET	Monday, October 12, 2009 Trained as a specialist in French 18th century literature (École normale supérieure) Catherine Cusset taught for a decade at Yale. As her novels and essays earned her an ever greater following in France, she gave up her academic career to devote herself fully to writing. Her books include En toute innocence (1995), Le problème avec Jane (1999), published in English as The Story of Jane (2001), La haine de la famille (2001), Un brilliant avenir (2008—Prix Goncourt des lycéens) and most recently, New York – Journal d’un cycle (2009). Catherine Cusset lives in New York.
ERIC REINHARDT	Tuesday, November 10, 2009 Eric Reinhardt followed his first novel, Demi-sommeil (1998) with a hard-hitting attack on conservative values, Moral des ménages (2002). His cuttingly humorous social criticism of capitalism and the plight of the middle class is carried on by the antiheroes of his next two novels, Existence (2004) and Cendrillon (2007). As a free-lance editor/publisher of art books Eric Reinhardt has worked with such diverse figures as choreographer Angelin Preljocaj, architect Christian de Portzamparc, visual artist Sarkis or shoe designer Christian Louboutin.

These events are made possible through the generous support of the Florence Gould Foundation with additional support from Directours, Open Skies, CulturesFrance, and the Cultural Services of the French Embassy.

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