Literature Center 2023: Dreaming, the Best Path to Science

The eighth edition of Literature in the center It will be held from March 27 to April 2. This Clermont festival aims to unite actors in the book trade and more broadly in culture by deconstructing literature and proving its importance in the contemporary world it sheds light on. Each year, the event plays the association card between writing and the social theme. After travel, the body, the animal, the travel… This is the science that will be discussed in 2023.
Sylvain Quiault, President of the Center for Littérature au, gave us an interview about this eighth edition and the festival in general.

7 days in Claremont: What are the connections between literature and science?
SL: The idea was to show that literature and science have very few prior connections but are nonetheless related. We’ve had this idea for a long time, because it’s a pretty original “entrance”. However, in history, literature and science form a whole. Just go back to Blaise Pascal. He was a scholar, a literary man, a philosopher, and an ethicist. There is no doubt that they separated in the twentieth century, while this was not the case until the nineteenth century. Zola was very interested in science, and natural scientists too.

7JàC: What created this rip? Is this justified?
Silvia Cattori: We have the impression that at some point, literature, along with history and sociology, turned abstract and idealistic. I asked guest writers to write their own self-portraits as scientists and it ended up being no problem. They defined themselves as people in search, fascinated by the mysteries of the universe, in the clouds, dreaming of scientific secrets, and very fascinated by science.

7JàC: How did you develop the festival programme?
s. A: We have excluded the humanities and social sciences to address ourselves mainly to the exact sciences such as mathematics, physics, biology, and medicine. We have invited scholars from these fields to dialogue with writers, even if there is a barrier that is sometimes difficult to cross. But let us take the example of doctors: there are many of them literary at heart, who have chosen this activity because human beings are drawn to social issues. To become a scientist, says Bachelard, you must first be a dreamer, who dreams of what is inside things…like children who want to take apart their toys to see how they work. in Psychoanalysis of fireHe says that one begins to dream in front of the flame of a candle before becoming interested in the phenomenon, what it produces, and how it works. We can take other sciences in the same way. I think of Jacques Réda who says that scientists are real poets. For me, there is a clear connection between literature and science.

7JàC: Getting an audience interested in literature isn’t always easy. Having chosen science as a subject, does this present an additional challenge?
SC: Yes. It’s a double challenge to pick a flag this year. We would like to attract an audience primarily interested in science, as well as those interested in literature. But we also want to ask high school questions: How do you choose to be scientific rather than literary? We’ve also scheduled children’s workshops with the Petits Débrouillards. We also want to touch on the issue of gender: why do girls prefer the literary field and boys choose the scientific field, and why is the Faculty of Arts ultimately for girls?

7JàC: After 8 editions, do you feel that the festival has found its place in the cultural landscape?
Silvia Cattori: Yes, in terms of the site. The writer’s notes are excellent. Tanguy Ville, Valentin Goppy and many others say we are the best literary festival in France… including acting. We are proud of him and anyway, our audience is loyal. But we want to expand it a bit, by making it clear that literature is not the preserve of the elite. That’s why we associate a little music, entertainment and reading that allows you to discover texts. There are also engagements, buffets, and many more things that help create a festive atmosphere. We are also opening up the geography of the festival with interventions in Croix-de-Neyrat and Riom, but things are still missing. We collaborate with secondary schools in Ambert or Riom, but we want to reach primary schools in a slightly larger area.

7 Jack: And what is your relationship with institutions?
s. A: Our association is heard and funded by institutions, but sometimes it is not at the level of our ambitions… That is for sure.

Interviews, presentations, conferences, concerts, readings, exhibitions, dedications and performances:
The 8th Arts Center Festival from March 27 to April 2, 2023: to discover the full programme click here