Le Feu Follet's Letter

Whether dissidences that herald upheaval or vain struggles that remain underground, dreams of justice or fantasies of chaos, the propositions are sometimes sterile, but opposition is always fertile. In this era of great divergences of visions about the future, a look at the past warns us that while the Yes is unifying, it is salutary to preserve the No!

A FIRST SUMMER NIGHT'S TORMENT Feel-good books, fun facts, wellness therapies, good vibes, body positivity, mood boosters… — in a world seeking lightness, happiness now seems to lie in Anglo-Saxon neologisms. Yet writers rarely pursue lukewarm sentiments or the quiet chase for bland contentment. When French poets borrow from across the Channel, it is often in search of spleen rather than any easy ideal. On this longest day, Le Feu Follet dares to hasten the sunset, that its ‘wandering fingers’ might trace the ‘bloodstain’ of the Affiche Rouge and dip into Delacroix’s darkest inks for a Shakespearean question — should Madame de Rênal be so kind as to lend us her lover’s skull.

This week, Le Feu Follet centers this week's letter on an inscribed manuscript score by Camille Saint-Saëns and a copy of The Clash's Red China signed by Joe Strummer himself. Two worlds, two eras, speaking to each other across time through ink and autograph. One from the velvet-draped salons of the 19th century, the other from London's sweat-soaked punk dives – yet both insist that music needs something tangible to outlast its makers.

To all those who have been fortunate enough to have had a wonderful journey, Edition-Originale dedicates these selections full of distant customs and numerous reasons to read and to set off.

Broken written tokens

« The divine cosmos appeared to them torn by tensions, conflicts of prerogative and power. They also recognized unity within it; all these restless and diverse gods, Zeus holds them together under the unity of a single law. »

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