“A completely astonishing epic”: the poetic work of Félix Castan highlighted in Montauban

It is the Protestant retirement home which is hosting, these October 11 and 12, the 4th edition of “Castan en sa ville”, a cultural event built around the great figure of Félix Castan and the imprint that the author has left in Montauban (Tarn-et-Garonne).

“This year, we are driving the point home a little on Castan himself. We wanted to highlight the poetry of Félix Castan. It is a part of his work that is little known because it has not been entirely published,” indicates Jacmé Gaudas, president of the Carrefour Castan association.
He himself decided to delve into “Epòs – Ethòs”, an Occitan epic of 4,000 verses that Castan wrote during the last ten years of his life.

This work is a poetic and family testament to the 20th century which is coming to an end. Castan speaks of a century of iron, made of violence and inhumanity.

“It is a poetry that must be proclaimed and sung. This work is a poetic and family testament to the 20th century which is coming to an end. Castan speaks of a century of iron, made of violence and inhumanity. His story is pacified by a genealogy from mother to daughter and from daughter to granddaughter. At the heart of this book, Castan pays homage to his first wife, the painter Marcelle Dulaut. He also addresses his daughter Anne and his granddaughter. Odile. It’s a truly astonishing epic written in the beautiful language of Quercy Occitan,” explains Jacmé Gaudas.

For this poetic and musical reading, this Friday evening at 8:30 p.m., he will be accompanied by Élisa Trocme, who will play clarinets, sanzas and jaw harps.

“Castan en sa ville” will begin at 5 p.m., Friday October 11, with a conference-debate on “The poetic vision of Félix Castan” hosted by two well-known Occitanists, Norbert Sabatié and Serge Labatut.

Claude Sicre talks about the “Multicultural Manifesto”

Saturday October 12, the highlight will be the conference around the famous “Multicultural Manifesto” by Félix Castan, a work in which he affirmed anti-centralist and anti-regionalist positions. The discussions promise to be fascinating, starting at 5 p.m., with Claude Sicre, author, founding composer of the Fabulous Trobadors and Serge Javaloyes, Occitan author and publisher.

The 4th edition of “Castan en sa ville” will end in music and dance, Saturday at 8:30 p.m., with the concert of Polifònic System, a trio which brings together the Marseille singers Manu Théron and Damien Toumi and Ange B, the pair of Claude Sicre in the Fabulous. “Polyphony into which electronics fit,” summarizes Jacmé Gaudas.