From July 10th to July 17th 2004
Gryon/Villars

The mountain is an old factory of the mind – as are the desert, the sea and the sky. Humans how not stopped being amazed by it in order to create. Marvellous texts and images have come from its rocks and perhaps now tell us, in their own way, things about our modern cities with their skyscrapers. A mountain to read, a week of meetings and debates, of readings, writing and walks, invites the public to take part in this treasure. A mountain to read is a proposal of a literary animation which takes part in the larger event called Landscapes in poetry.

The literary week is built around invitations sent out to seven authors from French speaking Switzerland to write a short story or a tale which would take place in the Alps of Vaud. This material will be the starting point of lectures and literary cafés.

The mornings will be dedicated to guided tours of the gardens of landscapes in poetry or to mountain hikes through the landscape itineraries.

The productions of the association Regards du monde

• The guest authors are seven writers from French speaking Switzerland who offer their view of the mountain and invent seven short stories, sweet, acid, critical or simply imagined. The expected authors are : Corinne Desarzens, Thomas Bouvier, Bernard Comment, Christophe Gallaz, Jean-Marc Lovay, Jérôme Meizoz, Frédéric Pajak. These stories will be compiled in a book edited for the occasion.

• These texts will be read in public by the authors. These readings will be followed by literary cafés organised every day of the week.

• A listening space in the village will be offered to the audience. Interviews of authors from the archives of the RSR will be broadcast.

• In the evenings, in the very beautiful hall of the parish, portraits from the Plans Fixes series or films of TSR’s Grands Entretiens or a selection of the Un Siècle d’écrivains or the Les hommes du livre will be projected.

• Every afternoon, readings of tales linked to the mountains of the world will be animated by actors and actrices. These reading sessions will be followed by illustration workshops animated by well known artists (Haydé et Albertine).

In collaboration with the association Et si l’on s'écriv@it*:

• Writing rooms will be installed both outside and indoors. These places will invite one to take the time to write letters according to the settings, the atmosphere or the landscape. The intimacy of these places will make one want to stop there. One will find fountain pens, pencils, ink, paper, envelopes, a letter box and a setting created for the event.

• Epistolary competition : I remember…A jury will select the best letter.

• In the mail art workshop one will be able to create custom envelopes and letter paper where words will mix with the drawings or pictures of the mountain. The most beautiful creations will be exhibited.

* The association Et si on s’écriv@it animates and organises the rooms of writing of the Festival de la correspondance of Grignan (F). Its active representatives are Odette Mudry, Elsa Skorecki and Annemarie Urech, women of the radion, television and literary passion.