Games of la
Francophonie

September 29 2009

Canada opens in literature

Canadian Stéphanie Filion got the literary competition off to a good start yesterday morning at the Pierre Abou Khater theatre in Beyrouth.

Stephanie read her short story, Papeterie ex-libris, with ease and confidence. She overcame the challenge of orally presenting a literary text containing dialogue by subtly changing the intonation of her voice without too much exaggeration.

When she finished her reading, our candidate answered questions from members of the jury about her choice of subject and the setting of her short story.

One jury member asked her if she was a photographer or painter, since there was such detailed imagery in her writing. Stéphanie answered with a smile that she appreciated the remark and that she would perhaps attempt a career as a photographer. The resulting laughter that erupted in the auditorium helped re-establish a relaxed atmosphere.

Next, Stéphanie had to choose from a pile of question cards that had been prepared. Her question was about the risk of the ghettoization of Francophone literature in Paris. She answered that, as a Canadian writer, she didn’t see the publishing world in Paris as a ghetto at all, but, on the contrary, as an opportunity to reach more Francophone readers around the world. For her, being published in France is a positive thing.

The jury for the literary contest was presided over by Alexandre Najjar, the Lebanese writer and medallist at the Francophonie Games in Madagascar in 1997.