In the 1980s and 1990s, it was common to find the monologues of Clémence DesRochers, Yvon Deschamps or Marc Favreau on the shelves of good booksellers. In the 2010s, Louis-José Houde and Les Denis Drolet are among the few who dared to transform their shows into books. Since last fall, it seems that the phenomenon has experienced a resurgence as André Sauvé’s books (Unpredictable monologues and detoursÉditions de l’Homme), by Adib Alkhalidey (Quebecois tabarnakStanké), by Virginie Fortin (Noise in the cosmosAtelier 10) and Marie-Christine Lemieux-Couture (Slayer of patriarchal joysAll in all) all have the stage as their origin.
Quebec humorists have given novels, autobiographies, personal growth, socio-political essays, collections of chronicles and even travelogues. Strangely, few of them dared to publish the monologues they tirelessly defended on tour. Marie-Ève Gélinas, editor at Stanké, puts forward a theory: “Perhaps it worries them to freeze something which is by nature ephemeral. »
For Nicolas Langelier, director of Atelier 10, it is all the more surprising because “the shape of the stand-up is conducive to reading […] Only one person speaks behind a microphone, without props or decor: it transforms quite naturally into a book! For us, this is a niche to occupy, especially since there is a clear interest in humor in Quebec and the territory of humorous publishing is not saturated. If we have to move towards more popular artistic practices for people to buy and read our books, I think it’s worth it. Collectively, right now, we have everything to gain from ensuring that people continue reading. » Atelier 10 therefore gave birth to a new collection, “Humour”, whose slogan is promising to say the least: “The most original, striking and relevant humorous texts from new Quebec. »
When the time comes to choose a monologue to publish, Marie-Ève Gélinas explains that she is looking for a text that “reads as well as it listens: the orality must be preserved, so that we can hear the voice of the comedian when we read. Our goal is to give longevity to texts that have undeniable literary qualities.” Kim Thúy, who signs the preface to Adib Alkhalidey’s book, is full of praise for the hilarious Quebecois tabarnak : “We had to make our words accessible at all times, share beauty, make a social gesture, even philanthropic. »
A question of generation
Nicolas Langelier readily admits his generational bias: “There is a new generation of truly brilliant comedians, who go against the clichés that we may have had about the comedy world 10 or 20 years ago. years. These people, whose creations are intellectually stimulating, and of whom Virginie Fortin is entirely representative, deserve, in my opinion, a place in bookstores and libraries. »
The idea of publishing the text of his first show, Noise in the cosmos, Virginie Fortin immediately admits to having borrowed it from the British Stewart Lee: “He’s been my favorite comedian since I discovered him more or less 8 years ago thanks to Guillaume Wagner. Before seeing him on stage, I was able to read his monologues and appreciate every word. It was also inspired by him that I decided to include footnotes in my book. By taking advantage of the comments on the margins of the text, we can enter the head of the comedian, have access to the behind the scenes, to the why and the how, to a form of self-criticism and even to a few arrows. In my opinion, this is added value. I’m really happy that Atelier 10 allowed me to do this. »
Even if she thinks that her readership will mainly be made up of people who attended the show, Virginie Fortin hopes that some will spot her thanks to her book: “Maybe people liked my second show and they will want to discover the first through reading. Or that others don’t give a damn about going to see comedians on stage and that they will have a good time with the book. »
Publishing a humorous text is also a way of nourishing a repertoire. For Virginie Fortin, it’s not surprising that this is happening now: “There is a new wave of humor, stand-up whose density lends itself to publication. I don’t want to sound like I lack humility, but I take a lot of time writing and thinking about my jokes. I must admit that it is very satisfying to see them in a book. I hope other comedians will be tempted by this. »
Although she has difficulty defining herself as a comedian, Marie-Christine Lemieux-Couture has presented several versions of her humorous show over the last few years, Feminist Killjoy, notably in 2019 at the Dr. Mobilo Aquafest. Subtitle Thoughts on humor and kyriarchythe book which has just been published by Somme tout, Slayer of patriarchal joys, is inspired by the solo in question. “I was the first to be surprised by the laughter I received while delivering a rather intellectual statement without taking myself seriously. As my practice is first and foremost literary, and this is where I feel comfortable, it was quite natural that I wanted to make a book based on the show. » Between the pieces of monologues, the academic slipped in essays about the “mechanisms of inequalities and systemic injustices”: “This hybridity is quite characteristic of my approach. »
A nice future
“Next fall, reveals Marie-Ève Gélinas, Stanké will publish Kiss, Jonathan Roberge’s first solo. It is a very good text, which the public did not have the chance to know because the show never got beyond the running-in stage; Jonathan’s son having been diagnosed with cancer. We also intend to publish the text of Adib’s most recent show, Whores and thieves. Publishing humorous monologues responds to our desire to discover new writings while reflecting the current hybridity of genres; the boundaries between humor, story and literature are increasingly porous. »
We learned that Atelier 10 would soon publish Virginie Fortin’s second show, My feelings. “We will of course favor comedians whose values and sensibilities correspond with those of Atelier 10,” explains Nicolas Langelier. There is no question of distorting ourselves or going towards things that are purely commercial in order to fill our coffers. The idea is to extend our editorial vision in a different form. We already have projects in mind, but it’s not yet advanced enough for me to tell you about them. »