Foreign Rights

What does it mean to be « independent » in the world of publishing ? Who are publishers and booksellers independent from and, more importantly, for what purpose? What kind of « independent publishing » constitutes a viable economic model? And what can we learn from the turmoil in the world of publishing about contemporary forms of speech control and the insidious shrinking of democratic space? In the footsteps of analyses such as that of André Schiffrin, these reflections describe a publishing world that is increasingly threatened by media conglomerates and the giants of the Web, but where, paradoxically, a thriving independent publishing sector is flourishing. In such a context, it becomes urgent to clarify this notion so that publishers and booksellers can, together, continue to disseminate radical forms and ideas: independence must be the fruit of a common reflection and a collective quest, because what is the point of being independent alone?

What is the power of literature? What is the political impact of «experimental» writing? From his beginnings with Tombeau pour cinq cent mille soldats and Éden, Éden, Éden, true indictments against French colonial violence, to his recent autobiographical trilogy that reveals a strong sensitivity to all forms of social domination, Pierre Guyotat’s writing has always been political. More than offering a simple monograph on an author who is often described as both abstruse and outrageous, Julien Lefort-Favreau highlights the political and aesthetic coherence of Guyotat’s work. He thus demonstrates the relevance of contemporary French literature when it questions the place of art in society and unites contestation with stylistic experiment, acknowledgement of historical defeats with hope, self assertion with desire for anonymity, autobiography with history. Borrowing from Jacques Rancière and Judith Butler’s thinking, this essay finds in Guyotat’s work food for rethinking politics through literature.