And two! It’s not yet mature, but it’s already a nice feat. Laruns, a town of 1,400 souls located in the Ossau valley, is indeed organizing its 2nd Pyrenean Festival of Literature from June 1 to 4, soberly called “Writing Nature”. A feat when you know how much energy you have to deploy to attract partners, notwithstanding the undeniable advantages of a locality nestled in the heart of the Pyrenees National Park – in this case, the Crédit Agricole Foundation, the local authorities, the Cellar de Jurançon and… L’Express, in particular, responded.
A feat, that’s for sure, when we set ourselves the “mission” to explore the great outdoors, from Iceland to Alaska via Everest, and to survey nature, with authors beacons or rising figures of the literary movement of nature writing. Cédric Baylocq-Sassoubre, an anthropologist by profession, thinks big. And he’s right ! We have to believe that the incredible heat wave which hit the region last year on Saturday June 18 (a red alert leading to the ban on public demonstrations outdoors or in non-air-conditioned places) did not cool him down. . It is true that the organizers of the festival (Cédric Baylocq-Sassooubre, therefore, the bookseller Marianne Lassus, the academic Françoise Besson ..) competing in imagination, then managed to maintain the literary festivities. And to award their prizes to three fine authors: Yann lespoux, for PeninsulasAgullo, 2021, Alexis Jenni, for I could have been a millionaireI chose to be a vagrantPaulsen, 2020 and Kathleen D. Moor for What is the world based onGallmeister, 2020.
This year again, the Ossau Valley is therefore becoming multilingual: in addition to French and Béarn, we will speak English with the American Jamey Bradbury, who has fallen in love with Nebraska (SavageGallmeister editions, 2019) and Swedish with the novelist, physiologist and MP Lina Nordquist (The one who saw the forest grow, Buchet-Chastel editions). Above all, we will talk about the love of nature, the passion for summits and the preservation of species. For this, Marie-Hélène Fraïssé, (Alaska, the final frontierAlbin Michel, 2023), Simon Parcot, The edge of the world is verticalEditions The word and the rest, 2022), Fanny Wallendorf, (Until the miracleFinitude editions, 2023), Thomas Vennin (Around the Summit of the Gods (Paulsen Guérin, 2021) as well as some specialists from the Pyrenees, Jean Cazaban, Marie Bruneau and Bertrand Genier, Jean Eimer, Jean-Paul Crampe…
The little queen in the spotlight
Finally, the 110th edition of the Tour de France obliges (on July 5, during the 5th stage, the riders will leave from Pau and will reach Laruns via the passes of Soudet (1,540 meters) and Marie-Blanque (1,035 meters) , we will also talk about cycling with Stéphane Dugast (The Escape, 2022, Éditions du Trésor), Jean-Louis Ezine (writer, journalist and literary critic at Mask and Feather), Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle (former cyclist) and Robert Casadebaig (mayor of Laruns). A beautiful plateau to evoke this long stage of 165 kilometers with 2 passes and 23 kilometers of ascent. Note that Pau will be a stage city in the Tour de France for the 74th time!
But who says Ossau valley, also says songs (here called cantères), music (in the company of Rachel Luppi and Jean-Luc Mongaugé), hikes and aperitifs. All this is on the program, of course (to discover on ecrirelanature.com/fr/festival/2023/le-programme)
All that remains is for us to deliver the selection of the two prizes that will be awarded during the Pyrenean Literature Festival:
L’Express Fiction Prize – Writing Nature
Fanny Wallendorf, Until the miracleEditions Finitude, 2023. Isabelle Anomou, The river childDalva, 2023. Simon Parcot, The edge of the world is verticalÉditions Le mot et le reste, 2022. Jamey Bradbury, SavageGallmeister, 2019. Lina Nordquist, The one who saw the forest growBuchet-Chastel, 2023.
Price Essay Write Nature
Stephane Dugast, A history of snow and ice explorationGlénat, 2022. Adam Weymouth, Yukon KingsAlbin Michel, 2021. Marie-Hélène Fraïssé, Alaska, the final frontierAlbin Michel, 2023. Baptiste Morizot, the unexploredEditions Wild project, 2023 Thomas Vennin (with the participation of Patrick IMBERT), Around the summit of the godsPaulsen, 2021,
Obviously, we have our favorites… But we will have to wait for the deliberations of the juries, Friday evening 2, to find out more…