Authors
The Gévaudanese dialect is similar to the langue d'oc. It is thus normal that it also had its defender. Like Frédéric Mistral, Félix Remize (1865-1941) wrote his most famous work in this language: Les Contes du Gévaudan.
In another register, Jean Larteguy (1920-2011) born in Aumont-Aubrac, author of Les Centurions, but also of Si tu reviens en Margeride, described the north of Lozère with humor and love: "A country so poor that the crows take a musette to cross it, but the most beautiful country in the world".
For the anecdote, we can also recall that Paul Eluard took refuge in 1943 in the castle of Saint-Alban, which was then home to an insane asylum, and that he wrote his collection of poems Souvenirs de la maison des Fous.
The destiny of Céleste Albaret, born in Auxillac, near La Canourgue, is also linked to literature. This modest servant knew the celebrity by the intermediary of her employer, who makes her appear in some of his books. She was entirely devoted to this capricious master. She assisted him in his death in 1922 and survived him for more than 60 years. His name was Marcel Proust!
Some other writers have set their novels in Lozere : Aubrac for Christian Signol in La Promesse des sources, Rieutort-de-Randon for Henri Dellerba in Les irascibles or Lanuéjols for Pascal Lainé's detective novel, Trois petits meurtres et puis s'en va... Among the regionalist writers, Marie de Palet is a great success. Her novels Les terres bleues, La demoiselle, Retour à la terre... take place exclusively in Lozère. The teacher, born in Mende in 1934, tells indeed the stories of the people of here and their life of another time. Yves Pourcher, a university professor born in Mende in 1955, also shares his passion for Lozere in his books. For example, Le rêveur d'étoiles, a war novel, which tells the story of Jérôme Charbonnel who leaves the fields of the family farm of Coulagnettes for the battlefields of the First World War. Jean-Paul Mazot has written Faces of Lozere in the 20th century, a historical account of politics, economy, leisure and tourism, health care, religion, culture and education, heritage... between 1901 and 2000.
And demonstrations
Lozère also shows its attachment to books and their authors through the events that are regularly held in Saint-Chély, where the bookshop Le rouge et le noir organizes literary meetings. Every year, Marvejols renews its book fair, while Sainte-Enimie specializes in comic books... The departmental lending library also has many branches and sets up a mobile library on the territory. Linked or not to the presence of a rural home, the municipal libraries, held at arm's length by volunteers, are formidable breeding grounds for reading of all kinds. Sometimes, some animations, readings, tales are added, especially for young people. And if we add some beautiful bookshops in Mende, Florac, Nasbinals and Marvejols, you should not miss any reading during your stay!
