Jean Giono & Jean Paulhan, 1928-1963
Jean GionoJean PaulhanCorrespondence Jean Giono & Jean Paulhan, 1928-1963
“Jean Giono and Jean Paulhan, the solitary lyricist deep in his Provence, and the driving spirit, in Paris, of a large part of the literary intelligentsia through La Nouvelle Revue Française which he directed for a long time, seem at odds with each other. However, perhaps because of this, from their meeting in 1929 a deep and solid friendship was born between the two men, although it was expressed mainly in writing: the chances of life meant that they saw each other very rarely.
Their exchange of letters over thirty-five years reveals their temperaments: Giono overflowing with sometimes utopian impulses, projects that he does not always realize (and, when he carries them out, it is almost invariably behind his expectations); Paulhan more precise, more methodical, holding firm the rudder of the journals he runs, but also a reader full of sympathy and at the same time critical insight, often inspired to define in a single word what is essential in the texts submitted to him. Both writing familiarly, but each full of unexpressed respect for the quality of the other, because they recognize in him a lord of letters. This is an endearing correspondence, which reveals sometimes unexpected aspects of two great figures.
Pierre Citron.
Publisher : Gallimard