Tribute to Christian Bourgois

Tuesday, January 24 2023 ; 7-10 p.m.

Founded in 1966, Éditions Christian Bourgois specialises in foreign literature.

« For me, the coherence of the catalogue is essential: it says both what it claims and, in the background, what it refuses, excludes, without any preconceived ideas about what readers supposedly want. On this point, I am in perfect agreement with the great German publisher Fischer, who said that the excellence of our profession is precisely to publish books that the public does not expect, that it does not want […]. I believe that I have composed my catalogue with the constant concern that it should express my literary and aesthetic preferences as closely as possible, and with the desire that the authors invited to appear in this catalogue, if not recognise themselves in the diversity of my editorial choices, at least find their own way of doing so without ever having the impression of giving in on their own demands.

It was then that I learned that a publisher must also know how to be sectarian, unfair, that he must have convictions, in short, that publishing is always publishing against. Very quickly, I knew that it was on this terrain of “other literature” that I would have some chance of inventing the catalogue I dreamed of. It was not a foregone conclusion, and one could even wonder if it was possible. Fortunately, many people, including translators, agents, booksellers and, above all, the authors themselves […] convinced me to try the adventure, and above all to pursue it at all costs.
I have always had a high opinion of artistic creation, whether literary or otherwise, and therefore of creators. […] You have to love artists and think that they are always right in the end. This has been my deep conviction since I started in this profession, I don’t believe that there are small and great artists, small and great works. »

Christian Bourgois

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