The French author Nicolas Mathieu criticized the Quebec writer Kevin Lambert, in the running for the Goncourt prize, for having worked with editorial deminers for the writing of his novel, i.e. individuals ensuring that the words of the book are sensitive to the realities of marginalized groups.
In an Instagram post, Nicolas Mathieu was outraged by the fact that Kevin Lambert described people opposed to the use of sensitivity readers as “reactionaries”. The French author, recipient of the Goncourt Prize in 2018, then developed his thoughts by detailing why he positions himself against the work of editorial deminers. Sharing the publication of the publishing house Le Nouvel Attila dating from two days ago, which praised the fact that Kevin Lambert had worked to “stick as close as possible to reality”, Nicolas Mathieu described the approach as “pitiful “.
The publishing house highlighted the first selection at the Goncourt prize for the Quebec author for his novel That our joy remains.
“But making professionals of sensibilities, experts in stereotypes, specialists in what is accepted and dared at a given moment the compass of our work, that leaves us circumspect to say the least, he said. writing. Let us brag about it, this is amusing at best, but pitiful in truth. To discredit with a word those who think that literature has nothing to do with these customs of a new kind, and to imply that they play into the game of the oppressions in progress, it is quite simply a bitch. This type of outing is distressing as much by its self-satisfaction as by its intellectual dishonesty. »
In the publication of Nouvel Attila, a quote from Kevin Lambert explained having consulted “Chloé Savoie-Bernard, an extraordinary poet and professor of literature, of Quebec and Haitian origin” for the edition of the book. “I wanted to have his point of view, particularly for the character of Pierre-Moïse, director of Ateliers C/W, also of Haitian origin. Even if I also do research on stereotypes linked to minoritized characters in fiction, I don’t have the compass in my eye and I can always be wrong. Chloé made sure that I didn’t say too much nonsense, that I didn’t fall into certain traps of the representation of black people by authors. you’re white. hes. »
“Sensitive reading, contrary to what the reactionaries say, is not censorship,” he added.
After its public release was picked up by French media, Nicolas Mathieu posted again on Instagram saying that he “absolutely does not blame this author (with whom I have since spoken) for using sensitivity readers. »
“It’s his freedom; do him good. I was reacting to the absurd advertisement that his publisher [made] on this subject and to the surprising pride that he seemed to take from it, as if it were at the same time a guarantee of literary quality, of modernity ( laughter) and virtue. I was reacting to the fact that Kevin Lambert, in an itw, ranks all those who consider that there is a possibility of censorship among the reacts, which consists of saying: either you are like me, or you are part of the problem », he continues before continuing to develop his thoughts on several lines.
In this second publication, he claims to have spoken with Kevin Lambert since his first release. The Quebec author has not yet publicly reacted to the affair.