The writing of the French actress, dancer and writer Sophie Daull is to a large extent autobiographical and connected to the articulation of losses: the sudden death of her teenage daughter and the murder of her mother. In the novel Na perišču, which is her first novel translated in Slovenian, she unfolds before us a verbal masterpiece.
The novelist in the book participates in a television literary program for the publication of her first book. She does not suspect that at the same time her image on the screen upsets an employee of the Green Spaces of Nogent-le-Rotrou. Released from prison where he served his time for a crime committed thirty years ago, he is unexpectedly confronted with his past.
The novel was awarded the European Prize for Literature.
Sophie Daull (1965) is a French actress, dancer and writer. She was born in the city of Belfort in the East of France. She initially studied piano and singing, and then joined the Belfort theater group. A few years later, she moved to Paris, where she also enrolled in theater acting and contemporary dance studies. After graduating, she worked with various theater ensembles throughout France, and in 1995, she founded her own theater group L’eau lourde (Heavy Water), which performs both contemporary and classical works and tours at home and abroad. Daull’s creative range is wide and extends beyond the theater boards. Writing in particular has always been an important part of her artistic expression. Among other things, she translates from German, writes articles, prepares and hosts radio shows, and since 2015 she has also devoted herself more seriously to novel writing. To date, she has published three novels, all of which have received great attention in France and abroad, and a fourth is about to be published.
Mateja Seliškar Kenda completed her studies in comparative literature, French and Dutch, and received her doctorate in Dutch and Flemish avant-garde poetry. She mostly translates Dutch and French prose, drama and poetry for adults and young people. It is worth mentioning her translations of YA literature by authors such as Annie M. G. Schmidt, Daniel Pennac, Bart Moeyaert and Guus Kuijer, as well as translations for adults of contemporary anthologies of Dutch and Flemish short prose and poetry, a collection of short stories by Michel Tournier, and translations of novels by authors such as Violette Leduc, Alain Robbe-Grillet, W. F. Hermans, Gerard Reve, Marieke Lucas Rijneveld, Tom Lanoye, Hugo Claus, Arnon Grunberg, Marguerite Duras, Isabelle Wéry, and others.
Sophie Daull visited Slovenia in June 2022 and attended a book fair Slovenski dnevi knjige. At the fair, she spoke with Maša Jazbec about reality, memory, and the most important tool for a writer – her words. A video of the conversation is available below:
Sophie Daull’s visit is a part of the project Paths to EU Bibliodiversity, co-financed by the Creative Europe Programme of the EU.
Alenka Štrukelj’s blog post is available here in Slovene: Literarna Lekarna.
