We know you as a painter and today, we discover you as a novelist. Where does this taste for writing come from?
I started writing short texts for a theater troupe. And, like many, I discovered that writing is super fun. We dump lots of things in there and then the imagination works. But you have to work. I, who have a dissolute mind, cannot make a plan that confines me. So, I work by recurrences. I’ll have a diaper, I’ll come back. things stretch, disappear, replace themselves…
Your book titled “Strawbery cake circus” features witches offering a chance of healing to the planet. Is this a feminist book?
The basis of the story plunges into a past which considered women differently than they were in our civilizations. The Feminine, today, takes back this place that was taken from it. Now is the time to act. It is up to us to ensure that this world which is going into a tailspin does not collapse. My book is a message of hope and sharing. As for the title, I wanted something funny that would lighten the drama, because it’s not about taking itself seriously.
You are from the Vosges, why is your story anchored in Brittany?
The Vosges is Brocéliande at every turn: valleys, mists, moraines, moss… And Brittany is undoubtedly the only region still rich in an oral tradition. I am thinking of gwerz which are an intelligent form of transmission where the speech is carried by an emotion, a story.
Will you continue to write?
Two other books have already been completed, including the crazy story of a vampire born demon. Writing, painting… I have the chance to do what I love with zero constraints. Life is short. Might as well keep having fun!
Practical
“Strawberry Cake Circus” by Philippe Jeannot, published by Hello Éditions, €20. The author will also be present at the Theix-Noyalo Book Fair on Sunday January 19.
