There is the first kiss, the first time with yourself, with a girl, or with a guy. Or neither. That first time that didn’t happen. A thousand first times, what. And, no, no instructions.
Posted yesterday at 11:00 a.m.
My first time, published these days by Éditions de la Bagnole, fills a void, by offering here a “collection of sexu short stories” for teenagers, a sort of anthology of possible premieres, told in the “I”, both refreshing and entertaining. But above all enlightening, downright reassuring.
The kind of book that everyone would have liked to read when they were teenagers.
“What am I doing wrong? », « is it me? “, “it’s really complicated…”, the nine short stories written by children’s authors (Laurence Beaudoin-Masse, Pierre-Yves Villeneuve, Édith Chouinard, etc.), all orientations combined, relate as many flops as discoveries, anticipations as big questions, in connection with sexuality in the broad sense. Love or purely sexual stories, strange noises and unexpected smells included. Not to mention the countless and unmistakable discomforts. Oh yeah, and some great fun times, too!
“Because to tell the truth, there is not only one first time… There are SOME first times”, writes Karine Glorieux, director of the collective, by way of introduction.
For this literature professor at the Collège de Maisonneuve, author and mother of three teenagers, the idea of the collection came quite naturally, while looking for tools to discuss with her own children. If there are certainly scientific works, written by sexologists, TV series on the subject (hello, Sex Education), few books have looked at the lived side, emotions, feelings or embarrassment, too…
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS
Karine Glorieux, professor of literature at the Collège de Maisonneuve, author and director of the collective
In terms of books, and Quebec books, it seemed to me that there was a void. So I looked for authors who could write the book that I would give to my teenagers. […] Because talking with your children is very delicate…
Karine Glorieux, author and director of the collective
Why children’s authors? “Because I wanted authors who could have a non-judgmental tone. “And we are indeed fully in complicity and confidence, without any filter. At all. “Warning: explicit content”, even warns the cover.
Diversity of stories
The idea of the collective imposed itself, since the formula makes it possible to ensure a diversity of points of view, cultural origins and experiences. Clarification: yes, these are short stories, so we are dealing with “characters”, specifies the editorial director, but indeed, all the authors have chosen to write in the “I”, “and everyone has chosen an experience quite close to his.
This is how Edith Chouinard recounts her failed first time (and this “penis that does not fit”), Jérémie Larouche, her first forced kiss (“my first kiss was an assault”, he realized 20 years later), and Nicolas Michon, his first pipe (“it’s like, ah OK, that’s just it…”).
“It’s hard to think that we weren’t all inspired by our own stories, also specifies the author of the probably most raw text in the collection, it rings too true! »
If he had never written a text of the genre before (the actor writes mainly for theater and television), the challenge challenged him.
I wanted to be cash, and write something that I, as a young individual who is not in the mainstream, would have wanted to read.
Nicholas Michon
His text, unique here in its genre, is punctuated by a number of slashes, winks to all the emotions, unspoken questions and feelings that one can experience, if only in a minute, and remembered for a lifetime. “I wanted to explain in 30 pages what happens in 62 seconds, summarizes the voluble author, when you imagine the best that could happen, but also the worst. If I could, I would read it in a minute without breathing! In case you still doubt it, we are a long way from the performance narrative, but rather in the recognition of “yes, it can be stressful”, he adds.
And if there’s one thing to take away from the book, it’s that. “Our young people are going through a fairly anxiety-provoking period, continues Karine Glorieux, but sexuality is not something you have to succeed, or not succeed. You try, or you don’t try, until it’s good for you. Everyone has their own recipe! »
Note that La Bagnole here inaugurates a series of collectives around the theme of “firsts”, with a view to demystifying without trivializing. The next title, aimed at ages 10 and up, will address the issue of the first period.
In bookstores September 15. From 14 years old.
My first time, sexual news collection
Under the direction of Karine Glorieux
Editions de la Bagnole
244 pages