If the experience of writing poems from photos is not new, Hélène Frédérick pushes it to the limit by devoting an entire collection to photography alone Charleston 1974 produced by the American John McWilliams (reproduced at the end of the book). The young girl we discover there, sitting on a chair and, on her knees, the painting of a landscape with a river, haunted the poet for a long time. A bit from the perspective of Georges Perec, it is, “through the keyhole / [d’]exhaust the image. She constantly accentuates the translation between a personal childhood and this young girl: “remind me, Charleston, the sweat and / the scent of the fire that ran / on the sidewalks // remind me of our friends”. Is it the immobility of Charleston, is it its objectification which is obvious or which elevates this image both to an icon and a sign of concern? “Charleston / it was before you knew / that the velvet of the flames / when licking you / could hurt.” A collection of great rigor, which joins the feminine lived and shown at the same time in the exact eye of reality.
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