Francis Ponge & Jean Paulhan, 1923-1968
Francis PongeJean PaulhanAlmost half a century of friendship. More than seven hundred letters and notes. Such is the exchange that has never ceased between two writers who both left their mark on the literary life of their time with their strong personalities. The friendship between Paulhan and Ponge does not go without storms. It is marked by some spectacular quarrels, even if reconciliation never takes long.
Through this correspondence, we see the work of the author of Le Parti pris des choses being constructed. We also understand better the internal life of La Nouvelle Revue Française at the time of Jean Paulhan and the great ambition of the author of Les Fleurs de Tarbes to find the secret of the relationship between words and thought.
The rise of perils from 1933, the Popular Front, the war, the Occupation, the Liberation, in short a turbulent and tragic history, are also present in these letters. And we can guess that the great trials of time, separation, and danger further strengthen the bonds that only death could untie.
Publisher : Gallimard