Lyon: end of Jean-Marie Gleize's 10 years presidency at the Centre d'Etudes Poétiques (Center for Poetic Studies): a great two days experience, a poetic orgy. We saw incredible films made by poets (especially the ones made by Eric Pellet/JM Gleize; the one made by Jacques Henri Michot; the Nathalie Quintane/Stéphane Bérard saynètes). I was impressed by the possibilities of combining a poetic text + images. We listened to many poets readings or paying hommage to Jean-Marie Gleize's generosity & devotion to poetry. I red poems published in his poetry magazine Nioques (it was also the 20th anniversary of it). I could hear the public laugh when I red "Sottie for Pierre Boulez" (French composer) that starts with these words: "Pierre Boulez bought ham. 4 slices…" We had a performance of Sylvain Courtoux, a poet who made a rock opera about the life of a poet-loser.



It was also a filming day: I shot a sequence about the Center for my documentary about contemporary poetry in France. My favorite shot is a young student called Juliette, hanging coloured tee-shirts on shutters in the sun, in the student house. All the event was made possible by poets like Noura Wedell, who's working at the Center. I met Noura in 2000 after a show in Brooklyn with Momus & Phiiliip; this is how music & poetry meet.

The same day 28th may is "Goto" release date. This is why, after my reading, I proposed to make a short concert d'écoute (a suggestion of poet Dorothée Volut), where you play the album to the audience, without playing or singing... 10 years ago, thinking of this album (I'm a title man, titles come first), I wanted to make Toog "Goto Togo". I started to learn a Togo dialect called Ewe with a Togolese man. Eventually, "Goto Togo" became "Goto"... The first articles about "Goto" are published in Austria & Germany; Rai radio in Italia plays "Goto"! And France is asleep.



うとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうとうと

A l'occasion de la présentation des revues Nioques 7/8 et Grumeaux 1, je lirai quelques uns de mes textes publiés dans la revue Nioques 7/8 en duo avec le comédien Christophe Brault.

Autres lectures:

Jean-Marie Gleize
Frédéric Danos
Gilles Weinzaepflen
Olivier Quintyn
Yoann Thommerel
Jacques Demarcq
Sonia Chiambretto

Librairie Le Divan
203, rue de la Convention
75015 Paris
à 19H30

Le lendemain, je serai au Centre d'études poétiques à Lyon pour re-lire des choses, montrer un faux-film, jouer de la sanza, balayer, dans le cadre de Nioques-Outside #1

Vendredi 28 mai
à partir de 15h

Jean-Marie Gleize
Noura Wedell

Auclerc Benoît
Bérard Stéphane
Beurard-Valdoye Patrick
Bonnet Vincent
Bret Cyrille
Burty David
Cohen Geneviève
Courtoux Sylvain
de Francesco Alessandro
Gobille Boris
Hanna Christophe
Joseph Manuel
Leibovici Franck
Magno Luigi
Mainardi Cécile
Mauche Jérôme
Petit Elodie
Quintane Nathalie
Quintyn Olivier
Renault Emmanuel
Zancarini Jean-Claude
Weinzaepflen Gilles

Jean-Marie Gleize

Lectures de textes (in absentia):
Giovenale Marco
Zaffarano Michele
Marzaioli Gulio

Samedi 10h-18h

Matin:
Séance cinéma
Marion Naccache: CONEY ISLAND (LAST SUMMER), 2009 (63 min)
Eric Pellet: Noir-Ecran (34 minutes) et Objet-Lumière (17 min)

Après-midi:
14h-14h30: Philippe Labaune et le Théâtre du Verseau : extrait de Tarnac
14h30-15h30: Séminaire Christophe Hanna, Franck Leibovici, Olivier Quintyn

Pause

16h-17h: Séance cinéma (in absentia):
Christophel David
Michot Jacques-Henri (20 min)

17h-18h: Table Ronde avec Jean-Marie Gleize autour du numéro de la revue Faire-Part qui lui est consacré

Jacques-Yves Cousteau (1910-1997) is the man who discovered the submarine world. He is the one who said to the world: there is something hidden under the water, full of secret beauties. Even if he clearly wanted to exploit the marine resources when he was young, he became a pioneer concerning the protection of the environment.

My concern today is about his famous boat "La Calypso", a boat he was given by mister Guiness (!) himself. It sank in Singapour in 1996, was tug to Marseille, then to La Rochelle and Concarneau in France in 1998. A nice film shows how it was tug. The owner of the boat, the Cousteau society, wasn't able to honour the repairing (1 700 000 euros). There is a lawsuit between the chantiers Piriou and them. The boat is currently kept in one of this society hangar. I don't understand why the French Ministre de la Culture don't pay the bill. The Calypso is part of France history & heritage. And the price is... a drop.

I made a strange dream the last night. I was watching the famous Montmartre Sacré Coeur in the distance, from Saint-Denis, in the north of Paris. Saint-Denis in my dream had only 3 buildings; and they were Roman ruins.

"Saint-Denis, bishop of Paris, and martyr. Born in Italy, he is usually represented with his head in his hands because, according to the legend, after his execution the corpse rose again and carried the head for some distance. Pope Fabian (236-250) sent him with some other missionary bishops to Gaul on a difficult mission. The Church of Gaul had suffered terribly under the persecution of the Emperor Decius and the new messengers of Faith were to endeavour to restore it to its former flourishing condition. On the island in the Seine, Denis built a church and provided for a regular solemnization of the Divine service. His fearless and indefatigable preaching of the Gospel led to countless conversions. This aroused the envy, anger and hatred of the heathen priests. They incited the populace against the strangers and importuned the governor Fescenninus Sisinnius to put a stop by force to the new teaching. Denis with his two companions were seized and as they persevered in their faith were beheaded (about 275) after many tortures. The bodies of the three holy martyrs received an honourable burial through the efforts of a pious matron named Catulla and a small shrine was erected over their graves. This was later on replaced by a beautiful basilica (egregium templum)."

Three Roman ruins in the northern part of Paris. Me, watching Paris from that point of view. Watching a Christian sign (Montmartre) from the ruins of Roman temples. What does it mean? Carl Gustav, please, help!

The place where Saint Denis and his companions were buried became one of the most important spot where the construction of French identity could start. Religion and power met there; since the sixth century, many French kings like Dagobert were buried in the Basilique of Saint Denis (I would recommend the visit). Today Saint-Denis belongs to the 9-3 area. A lot of people coming from the ancient colonies of Africa and Maghreb, their young descendants live there. It's a very lively place; it's worth going there for the saturday market.

French Christianity was built on Roman ruins (3 ruins in my dream, like the 3 beheaded saints). Now, France has to face the new face of France: we have many religions. The only Christian France is an attractive ruin for tourist guides. The new face of France is the face of the world. This is what my dream tells me: the future is made of ruins if there is no understanding of all these changes. Welcoming the newcomers and their children also means welcoming their Faith and traditions; the dreams has also a political meaning.

In may, there is a publication in an excellent poetry magazine called "Nioques". 16 pages of funny poems that I wrote like serious stories. In the one called "Sotie for Pierre Boulez" I imagine the family life of a famous composer that I don't know. On 27th may, there will be a reading at "Le Divan", Paris, for this new issue. I will ask a comedian, Christophe Brault, to read alone or with me. On 28th may, I'll be in Lyon at the Centre d'Etudes Poétiques, for my first performance ever, with many poets:

Wedell Noura, Auclerc Benoît, Bérard Stéphane, Beurard-Valdoye Patrick, Bonnet Vincent, Bret Cyrille, Burty David, Cohen Geneviève, Courtoux Sylvain, de Francesco Alessandro, Gobille Boris, Hanna Christophe, Joseph Manuel, Leibovici Franck, Magno Luigi, Mainardi Cécile, Mauche Jérôme, Petit Elodie, Quintane Nathalie, Quintyn Olivier, Renault Emmanuel, Zancarini Jean-Claude, Weinzaepflen Gilles, Jean-Marie Gleize, Giovenale Marco, Zaffarano Michele, Marzaioli Gulio

The Centre d'Etudes Poétiques has been created by the poet Jean-Marie Gleize, who runs Nioques, as a research center for contemporary poetry, related to the ENS. A unique place in France. My friend, the poet & philosopher Noura Wedell works there. During this event, which is the au revoir said by Jean-Marie Gleize to the Center, I will do something about economics & poetry and also film the life there for my new documentary about contemporary poetry in France.



The same day is the official release of my 6th album "Goto" with Karaoke Kalk. Here you can see the LP cover drawings (thanks to my wife Florence Manlik & Rémi who made the file); the back is on the left part of the image. 2 shows are already planned; Düsseldorf (Salon des Amateurs, 14th july) and Hamburg ("Golden Pudel Club", 15th july), in which I will also screen my documentary about Jean-Jacques Perrey.

What else? There is a nice Robert Crumb exhibition close to my place at Galerie Martel.