Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt has the art of the counterpoint. And of audacity, always audacity! At a time when the obsession with victimhood in Western societies is taking on the appearance of an epidemic, the writer has chosen to place the Grignan Correspondence Festival under the sign of heroes. “The era of complaint is coming to an end”he hopes.
For the author of La Traversée des temps, an impressive history of humanity in eight volumes, they bring us hope, dreams and strength. “I believe that each of us, deep down in our hearts, needs heroes to live. The child to build himself, the adult to repair himself.”he sums up, repeating the words of Boris Cyrulnik, who will also be present at the Château de Grignan, the magnificent Renaissance and classical palace of Madame de Sévigné.
Hero among heroes, it is de Gaulle who opens the festival
The ” resilience “ whose concept the psychoanalyst forged involves the defense of heroes. “It’s a bit against the grain of the times,” admits the author of Monsieur Ibrahim et les fleurs du Coran, “but at the same time, you know, I had encounters that shocked me not long ago with young people who are crazy about reading – and yes, they exist! – in France, Switzerland and Belgium.”
When the novelist asked them who their two favorite writers of the 20th century were, they answered Romain Gary and Joseph Kessel. “They justified themselves by telling me: ‘For heroism.'”
It was this youth, which feeds on a writer like the author of Army of Shadows who took all the risks to go to the world’s theatres of war, who convinced him. “We need to immerse ourselves in the bath of these people to give us the courage to live and also to affirm values, to affirm what we believe in.”
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Launched in Grignan, in the Drôme Provençale, on the initiative of its mayor Bruno Durieux in 1996, the year of the tercentenary of the death of Madame de Sévigné, the festival which celebrates the art of letter writing has enjoyed unprecedented popularity for three years under the direction of Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt.
The writer first came as a spectator, then as an author and performer, before finally becoming the artistic director and president of this unique event, ideally located on the road to Avignon where he goes every year. “When I was offered it, I said to myself: ‘That’s good, I have nothing to do!’ he says with a big laugh. I accepted because desire rules my life. I had never directed a festival, and this one that I love very much brings together my two passions: literature and theater.”
Hero among heroes, it is Charles de Gaulle who will open the festivities on Tuesday in the courtyard of the castle, with La France à partir de rien, a show performed by Valentin de Carbonnières and Élodie Navarre.
Among the highlights of the week, Lara Suyeux will read the letters of Henri Tardieu, a soldier from the 1914-18 war, addressed to Rose, his fiancée, while Thierry Frémont will delve on Friday into the correspondence of Alexandre Marius Jacob, the historical model for Arsène Lupin. Among the dozens of letters from heroes that will be read, including Louise Michel, Lawrence of Arabia and Abbé Pierre, Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt has personally chosen three: Charles de Gaulle, Beethoven and Nelson Mandela.
“What touches me in the correspondence is that the texts were not thought of in terms of publication: there is therefore a real intimacy with the thought, we feel the author’s breathing. By immersing ourselves in the intimate writings of famous people, we can perceive them without disguise, without the social trappings of uniform or function. We can find the breath of the soul there.”
