LThe cover of this book caught my attention, so I took the plunge, it was an adventure,” enthuses a young vacationer, who fell for one of the 90 livres presented on the stalls of this first literary festival of Old Port.
The authors, including Corsican and Sardinian writers, were invited to tell the secrets of making their works, such as sources of inspiration and writing challenges, to offer another level of understanding to readers. “Hearing the author talk about how he came up with his novel made me want to read it.“, explains an Italian teacher, who came “out of curiosity” and who finally leaves with a signed book.
And this literary event stands out for its originality: presenting the process of literary creation by highlighting Mediterranean book professionals. “With this festival, we wanted to present to the public the links in this book chain. We want to familiarize people with these professions which offer interesting trajectories“, explains Dominique Verdoni, deputy delegate for culture at the town hall of Porto-Vecchio.
Discover the profession of writer
And it was Yan Lespoux, Occitan author of noir novels, who inaugurated this first edition of the Piazz’à u libru festival, as godfather. Some discover it, others are avid readers. The dedications of his latest book To die, the world follow one another, and questioned about his writing choices, the novelist reveals the facets of an often fantasized profession: “Writing can’t be improvised. People think it’s just a question of talent, but it’s actually a lot of work,” explains the author.
“If you’re not passionate, it’s not worth it.“, says Belinda Cannone, universalist feminist author who came to present The temptation of Penelope. “Writing, it’s so difficult, so distressing… What we write, we don’t know what it’s worth and when it’s poorly received, we feel hurt in our privacy” she explains.
A city of readers
“Read! It’s the only way to progress“, advises Anne Bourrel, author of crime novels, to budding writers who would like to get started.
And to introduce young people to the writing profession, the city of Porto-Vecchio has taken the lead by organizing book-making workshops at the Animu media library: “There is a real interest in these professions among young people, these workshops are often fully booked” explains Dominique Verdoni.
“Porto-Vecchio is a city of readers, this book festival was expected“, she adds. 10% of the Porto-Vecchio population regularly borrows books from the Animu. Opened three years ago, this young media library is a success with locals and holidaymakers.”New releases, thrillers and children’s books work very well“, explains Dora Stella Andreani, head of the media library. The paper book still seems to have a bright future ahead of it.
