She is one of those authors for whom anchoring in their region of origin is fundamental. But his growing success forced him to return regularly to the capital. Journeys, by train or by car, that Cécile Coulon (1) has long experienced as a constraint, before making them privileged moments of meditation and culture.
L’Express: In addition to your activities as an author and editor, you host the literary program La Source on France Inter (2). Were you tempted to leave Clermont-Ferrand for the capital?
Cecile Coulon: It has been suggested to me for fifteen years! When I started, I was told a lot: “You have to live there, show yourself a little.” But today, we can do a lot of things on the Internet, in video for example. That said, at the moment, the Paris box is inevitable both for the Maison de la Radio, for the “L’Iconopop” collection that I co-direct and for my private life since my partner lives in the Paris suburbs. So I’m two weeks in Clermont, two weeks in Ivry-sur-Seine. Representing Clermont-Ferrand as European Capital of Culture 2028 was also a way to counterbalance this situation by putting myself at the service of my city.
You spend a lot of time in transport, whether by train or car. What does this particular temporality bring you?
As an author, it’s great! Before, I lived this time dedicated to travel as a priesthood. Then I wanted to turn the tide to make transport an intimate cultural place. These are great moments of reflection, of concentration… The train, where you can read, write, watch a film, answer your e-mails, offers an extraordinary office. And each time I take my car for a round trip from Clermont to Paris, I am delighted to have four hours to listen to episodes of this or that podcast or to enjoy reading aloud.
You are an ambassador for the Clermont bid for the title of European Capital of Culture 2028. What are you going to defend?
The entire Massif Central is a candidate, i.e. 22 departments and 85,000 square kilometers. Clermont-Ferrand is certainly a nerve center, but the challenge is to say that it is not the place where everything happens, that you have to offer art, music, reading, even in tiny villages. In the city, the cultural offer is calibrated for 400,000 people when only 140,000 live within the walls! There is also an incredible network of cinemas, festivals, such as the short film festival, historically very established performance halls, such as the Coopérative de mai and the Comédie de Clermont. The Regional Fund for Contemporary Art is being set up in the former Halle aux Blé, a new media library is under construction…
Leaving Auvergne and its volcanoes, is this possible for you?
I don’t want to leave. And if that were to happen, it wouldn’t be to go to Paris or a big city, but rather to another countryside.
(1) His last works: Alone in her homeThe Iconoclast (2021); In the absence of the captainThe Astral Beaver (2022); The foot on the ground: Interviews with Fabrice Lardreau, Arthaud (2022). (2) Sunday at 9 p.m.