Published in March 2017 by Actes Sud, Laurent Gaudé's latest book is a collection of poems entitled De sang et de lumière.
We had already discovered Laurent Gaudé's pen through magnificent works such as Le Soleil des Scorta, which earned him the Goncourt in 2004, or Eldorado, a clever mix between an oriental tale and a documented report on migratory flows in the Mediterranean. A poignant sincerity emerges from his writing, ultimately very simple and very accessible.
"Words are
Old
Like the suffering of peoples. »
First collection of poems
Laurent Gaudé is a writer who has several strings to his bow: indeed, in his long bibliography, one can find novels, plays or short stories. It is therefore a challenge that the author has set himself by publishing his latest book. Laurent Gaudé's novels and plays revealed his taste for tragedy and epic; two forms of poetry already.
And that we had missed poetry! Reading these few verses of prose, all of a sudden, everything comes back to us; The rhythm, so important to the reading, the choice of words, significant, and especially the humanist commitment of the poet. In Blood and Light, his words give voice to the oppressed, silenced, or revive the memory of the sunken peoples of History. They exalt the love of a mother, or the necessary brotherhood between men. They evoke once again the refugees, in search of an impossible land of welcome, this theme of exile so modern and so ancient at the same time. They are inhabited by a luminous pagan fervor that would like to blow on the wind of hope.
Of blood and light
The compendium is then divided into eight distinct sections. Of blood and light, they are in fact eight long poems like songs that give voice to those of the world that we do not listen to. Eight poems gathered here paint a bitter picture of the human experience on the planet. They take us through the ages, the continents to draw up an inventory. The author succeeds in conveying his rage, his revolt, his disgust, by depositing his words, almost delicately, as if to soothe the pain of all these stowaways of life by giving voice to misery. His sweet words slap us as if to bring us out of torpor, from the comfort that blinds and sleeps. Laurent Gaudé's poetry does not want to forget. She wants to learn to open our borders, to love this old Europe that trembles and hesitates about its identity.
Believing in Humanity
As we have already said above, the poet describes the misfortune of peoples, the slaves of yesterday and the emigrants of today. In this way, he denounces the inability to appease souls to better seal hearts. However, pessimism is not appropriate. Laurent Gaudé ends his collection De sang et de lumière by opening on
The focus
Light
To smile
And spirit
It thus seems that the philosophy of the Enlightenment continues to be transmitted, eternally, and that it is perpetuated over the centuries by such authors whose pen remains a sharp weapon in the face of the ambient malaises of all societies. Men have made big mistakes since the dawn of time. Despite everything, true humanist values remain. The poet is not a judge; He is only a witness who tells. And as long as Laurent Gaudé continues to point out the fractures of the world, his lyricism will always prevail.
And as no one can talk better about his book than the author, we let you discover this brief interview with Laurent Gaudé, broadcast by the Mollat bookstore.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhK9IIbZypk
