To organize a literary event, the place seems a priori improbable. And yet… Laruns (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), a small Béarnaise town of 1,400 souls nestled in the hollow of the Ossau valley, is preparing to welcome the first “Write nature” festival from June 17 to 19.

When you think about it, this location actually makes perfect sense. Because why on earth would we have to gather in Paris, Bordeaux or another big city to evoke a literary movement that questions the relationship of man to the world around him? Isn’t it much more coherent to find yourself in the heart of the magnificent Pyrenees National Park, in a valley dedicated to pastoralism where vultures, chamois and even bears still live?

This is the conclusion reached by the man who once had this seemingly crazy idea, and managed, with others, to bring it to fruition (1). Cédric Baylocq-Sassoubre, an anthropologist by profession, certainly grew up in Bordeaux, but it is here, in the Ossau valley, that most of his ancestors lived. He says: “One day, while I was hiking alone in these mountains, I was reading a few pages of A Summer in the Sierra, by John Muir, the creator of the American national parks. And the evidence dawned on me: some landscapes described in this book and those I had before my eyes were similar. I then thought that the Ossau Valley was the ideal place to host a festival dedicated to the genre called in the United States Nature writing.”

It was just a project. It has come true. And it resonates with the times. Admittedly, as Françoise Besson, professor emeritus of English-language literature at the University of Toulouse 2 and member of the jury, reminds us, “the writing of nature has existed since Antiquity; from the poetry of Virgil to the great Romantics by way of by the Chinese poetry of Antiquity. However, it was in the United States, from the 19th century onwards, that this current really took shape.” A current that has now taken on a new dimension, due to the ecological crisis that is shaking the planet. To the point of sometimes giving rise to philosophical reflection, even to political commitment. “In France, this genre has been carried in recent years by the magazine America, directed by François Busnel (the presenter of La Grande Librairie on France 5), whose documentary on Jim Harrison will be broadcast on the spot”, specifies Cédric Baylocq- Sassoubre.

Logically, three representatives of this now flourishing literary current will be present at Laruns: Kathleen Dean Moore (On what is the world based), Nick Neely (Alta California, not yet translated), and Scott Slovic (Going away to think, to be published under the title Traveling to think, with a translation by Françoise Besson). They will dialogue with a talented group of French writers, including the Goncourt Prize winner Alexis Jenni (I could have become a millionaire, I chose to be a vagrant), André-Jacques Dereix (Walk or dream), Olivier Lafaye (Les Béarnais of San Francisco), Yan Lespoux (Presqu’îles); Pierre Madelin (Carnets d’Estives. From the Alps to Chiapas) and Guillaume Sire (The Foothills), in particular.

On the program for these three days? Two prizes (2), one for works of fiction (sponsored by L’Express), the other for essays (sponsored by Crédit Agricole), awarded by a jury chaired, of course, by the editor-in-chief of the Books department of L’Express, Marianne Payot). But also readings, meetings with authors, a competition; Pyrenean exhibitions; conferences without forgetting a “poetic stroll” in the company of the orchestra of Pau Pays de Béarn and the authors. Knowing that, to finish, all these little people will meet on Sunday, poles in hand and walking shoes on their feet, for a hike in the high Bearn mountains, one of the highlights of these three days.

As often in rural areas, solidarity played a full role in welcoming festival-goers, housing them, finding the money (there is still a little lack of it). Especially since, in order not to organize an “above ground” festival, multiple partnerships intended to associate the population with the event have been set up with the town hall, the media library, La Curieuse bookstore Troquet d’Arudy, elected officials locals, local businesses and schools. All with success since even the city of Pau was won over and will welcome some of the festival-goers to its media library from Thursday 16 for a presentation of the three American authors.

Everything will not be perfect? No doubt: such is the rule of “firsts”. Nevertheless: the essential is assured. And it would not be surprising if a second edition sees the light of day next year. After all, the best ideas are often the ones that initially seemed a bit unreasonable.

(1) Special mention to bookseller Marianne Lassus and ex-captain of industry Olivier Lafaye.

The program is to be discovered on https://www.ecrirelanature.com/fr

The selected ones:

Fiction category

-Yann LESPOUX, Presqu’îles, Agullo, 2021

-Guillaume SIRE, The Foothills, Calmann-Lévy, 2021

-Carl NIXON, A cliff at the end of the world, L’Aube, 2021

Peter HELLER, The River, Actes Sud, 2021

-Joe WILKINS, These mountains forever, Gallmeister, 2021

Trial category

-Pierre MADELIN, Notebooks of mountain pastures. From the Alps to Chiapas, Wildproject, 2021

-Bertrand VALIORGUE, Rebuilding agriculture at the time of the Anthropocene, Le Bord de l’eau, 2020

-Kathleen D. MOORE, What is the World Built On, Gallmeister, 2020

-Alexis JENNI, I could have become a millionaire, I chose to be a vagrant, Paulsen, 2020

-Luc BRONNER, Chaudun, the wounded mountain, Seuil, 2020

Palmares

For works of fiction: Yann LESPOUX, Presqu’îles, Agullo, 2021

For the essays: Alexis JENNI, I could have become a millionaire, I chose to be a vagrant, Paulsen, 2020

Special Jury Prize: Kathleen D. MOORE, What is the world based on, Gallmeister, 2020