Literature and publishing. The power of words

On Thursday April 13, 2023, we, students of the Culture policy stream at the School of Public Affairs, met with Mohamed Mbougar Sarr and Philippe Rey to discuss a theme that sounds like a plea: the power of words. On the one hand, the author of La Cale (2014), Terre Ceinte (2015), Silence de chœur (2017), De Purs Hommes (2018) and La plus secrète mémoire des hommes, which won the Prix Goncourt 2021, extols the omnipotence of literature, calls for inspiration with no fear of pillage, and appeals to the war of canons. On the other, the founder, 20 years ago, of an independent publishing house in his own name, claims elective time with each author, resists mercantile impulses, and enshrines his literary convictions. They fulfilled our wish with honesty and simplicity.

The more they revealed their mischievous complicity, the more they revealed the power of words. A vulgar and vulnerable power. A social and political power. An intimate power, a power of friendship. In a word, an "oblique power", as Mohammed Mbougar Sarr calls it. For words do not have a direct impact on the world. Rather, they are brought to life when read through "the mediation of a sensibility". Their power is always relative. This is why a book must be "as open as possible", welcoming all kinds of pride and insights. In this sense, quoting Congolese writer Sony Labou Tansi, Mohamed Mbougar Sarr advocates "engaging works over committed works", which elicit particular views rather than imposing a clear vision. Meanwhile, Philippe Rey refuses to choose the works he accompanies on the basis of political kinship. He values two criteria: literary quality and the pleasure of reading, and disdains any anticipation of commercial success. For "nothing is sadder than a bestseller that doesn't sell" proclaimed Jérôme Lindon, former Éditions de Minuit's director.

Philippe Rey and Mohamed Mbougar Sarr's partnership is based on their devotion to literary works. Never constraining the work in progress, the publisher has been able to warn the writer of wanderings and vanities. This professional relationship became friendly because it withstood all ordeals, including success, enthusiasm and their "funny, serious, conspiracy episodes". Thus, Mohamed Mbougar Sarr declined a fashion show for Chanel. He prefers literature as a dynamic space for "multiplying perspectives", to and from a minoritized country and continent, still burdened by colonial legacy. To this end, he would like to ward off any stigmatization. Despite this majestic project, Mohamed Mbougar Sarr still cherishes the suspicion that words are partly illusory and powerless. Here lies his dilemma. 

These literary scruples do not, however, evade the competitive framework of publishing houses, their schedules and their strategies. When the words line up on the page and the pages are added to the work, then the publisher becomes the defender of this oblique power, so that as a miraculous island, it emerges from the flooded market of new literary releases, so that at a resigned but steady trot, it progresses in the "small horse race" of autumn prizes. In the face of the "behemoths" that surround him, Philippe Rey has opted for "qualitative work", taking the time to read, to wait for the unexpected, to discover singular texts and to support new authors. Mohammed Mbougar Sarr enjoys working in humbler structures, not so much out of militancy as out of a kind of instinct that leads him to a familiar, intimate environment where he feels comfortable writing. The power of publishing is this magical encounter between the writer and the publisher who choose each other. To put it more trivially, it involves conversations and smiles to promote authors to juries. But it also means being a committed publishing house, or rather, an engaging one. One example is the decision to co-publish La plus secrète mémoire des hommes with Felwine Saar, which was mentioned several times during this masterclass, in a Franco-Senegalese partnership that has enabled the Jimsaan publishing house to redeploy locally and open up to the world. Another example is Philippe Rey's fight against the distinction between French and "French-speaking" writers, when only creativity and originality should prevail.

The friendship between Mohamed Mbougar Sarr and Philippe Rey has taught us that the power of words lies first and foremost in their fragility, in the uncertainty of their seduction, in the suspicion of their futility. Each word is first and foremost a trembling, a hesitation, by which it still escapes the counterfeit exactitude of AI. Seriousness and comedy: this is what literature is all about.
 

Article prepared by the student organisers of the Masterclass: Alexandre Hervé, Louise Coulet, Esther Vasseur, Gabrielle Vauterin, Carla Giannotti, Tanina Sadihaddad. 

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• The Culture/Cultural Policy and Management stream at the School of Public Affairs