Maryline Bultel created her esoteric boutique and bookstore, Lamagique d'Isis, in 2021 in Beaucaire. She also participated in the launch of the first edition of the “Read in Light” book fair, on December 17, 2023. The rest is scheduled for April 5 and 6, 2025. Interview.
ObjectifGard: After a first edition on December 17, 2023, the book fair will return to Beaucaire in 2025, this time over two days, April 5 and 6. Tell us the story of this rather surprising return after the closure of the bookstore “Les Mots Bleus”, whose manager Corinne Lachayze was with you, one of the three creators of the event.
Maryline Bultel: Following the organization of the book fair in Rodilhan in September this year, authors asked me if I did not wish to organize the fair again in Beaucaire. I told them: “Why not!” It remained to be seen when the municipal Casino would be available; the town hall offered me April 5 and 6. Two days is more comfortable in terms of logistics for authors and also more attractive, since they increase their sales potential.
>> To reread: BEAUCAIRE. First edition of the “Reading in Light” book fair: words, encounters, journeys.
How many authors will be present?
30 authors will be present, and it is already full. There will be authors of manga, fantasy novels, “Young Adult” novels, etc., most of them from the region. We have authors from Beaucair, I don’t see why I wouldn’t have them come. And then you know, having too big a headliner is a little harmful to the show because everyone comes to see her without paying attention to the authors who are next door. So I prefer to bring authors known in the region, others a little less known, but that everyone can have the chance to meet the public. For example, there will be Christine Hainaud and Frédéric Somon, Yaël Catherinet.
This show was missing in Beaucaire, the only one organized during the year…
I think that culture, in any case the knowledge that is given in books, whether in a fictional novel or inspired by a true story or even in a book of cooking recipes, makes it possible to make people want to read again. without going through the internet, to get away from the series, and rediscover their imagination. There is always something to reinvent in a book, and I find that to be essential to freedom of thought.
You manage an esoteric boutique and bookstore in Beaucaire. Do you think about linking your professional activity to this show in the future?
Obviously there would be a possibility of organizing an esoteric book fair but in the region there are only a few authors who touch on this subject. So organizing a regional show would be more complicated. Afterwards, we can imagine having headliners like Georges Lahy or some who are recognized in the Camargue.
Esotericism has been on the rise in recent years, how do you explain it?
This can be explained in several ways. First of all, there is the desire, from a certain age, to answer the questions we ask ourselves: why is this experience happening to me in my life? Who am I really? Where am I going? Why am I alive? Existential questions. And so these people will seek answers through esoteric practices and from there, they will begin to open up to another dimension which is no longer the world but their world. And then, the social context is also a factor because people are getting worse and worse due to the economic situation etc. They tell themselves that they are faced with special situations and wonder about “how” they will get out of it and feel good about themselves. Then, there really was an explosion in lithotherapy. I came there by doing a course in organic chemistry with training accompanied by a mineralogist and I also did training with a gemologist. So stones hold no secrets for me. After all that, all my work was to research the symbolism through time, traditions, how the stone was perceived and what its function was. The search for meaning comes from my thirst for knowledge and that's where it connects with books. I devour books.
