A language: Occitan
The first Occitan texts appeared as early as the 11th century, making this language - derived from Latin - the first literary language of Europe. Ibero-Ligurian, Celtic, Visigothic, Frankish and Vascon forms are found there. For Dante, "la langue d'oc" covered a vast linguistic space, from Limousin to Provence, including the recently conquered lands of the kingdom of Al Andalus around Valencia! This Occitan literature reflects the exchanges linked to the historical context: the establishment of the papacy in Avignon, the English settlement in Aquitaine, the arrival of merchants from Northern Europe... The literature is expressed in the form of poetry. The troubadours (about 500 of them are identified by name) and the trobairitz, the poetesses, spread this language throughout the West.
The 16th and 17th centuries saw a revival of inspiration carried by the princely courts from Nerac to Pézenas, from Aix-en-Provence to Toulouse. Peire Godoli (1580-1649) dominated this literature (his statue is in Place Wilson in Toulouse). Unfortunately, royal absolutism reduced this once prestigious language to a patois. In reaction, in the context of Post-Romanticism attached to regional originalities, Frédéric Mistral co-founded the Félibrige movement in 1854. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1904 for his work Mirèio. Subsequently, the two world wars contributed to an even greater decline in the use of this language, which was forbidden to be spoken in the schools of the Republic. However, a generation of writers will see its texts recognized and translated into several languages: Max Rouquette, Jean Boudou, Bernard Manciet or Robert Laffont founder of the famous publishing house!
Today, the intangible cultural heritage recognizes the richness of Occitan and its originality. Around the Midi-Toulousain area, about 700 schools - the Calendreta - and 170 colleges teach Occitan. In Toulouse, the Ostal d'Occitania ensures this continuity through language courses, exhibitions and various events.
A literary competition: the Floral Games
In 1323, seven troubadours founded the Consistori del Gay Saber in Toulouse, a literary society later recognized as a Royal Academy by Louis XIV in 1694. Since then it has been called the Academy of Floral Games. It owes its name to the festivals celebrated in Rome in honor of the goddess Flora, and the five golden or silver flowers (the violet, the eglantine, the marigold, the amaranth and the lily) awarded as a reward to the authors of the best poems, in French and in Occitan. This celebration takes place on May 3 in homage to the first contest organized on May 3, 1324, in the garden of the Augustines de Toulouse. The one who receives three of these flowers carries the title of Master of the Games. Later, the competition was financed by the Capitouls. Since 1895, it has had a seat at the Hôtel d'Assézat alongside the other Academies of the city
Since then, many personalities have been among its members, including three Nobel Prize winners (Paul Sabatier, Jean Dausset, Jean Tirole); five Permanent Secretaries of the French Academy (Etienne Lamy, René Doumic, Georges Lecomte, Maurice Genevoix and Jean Mistler); many academicians (Marshal Joseph Joffre, Edmond Rostand, René Bazin, Charles Maurras, Emile Henriot, José Cabanis....); three heads of state (Gaston Doumergue - President under the II Republic, Marshal Philippe Pétain and Léopold Senghor - President of Senegal); artists (Jean-Paul Laurens - painter, Pablo Cazals - musician...) or media personalities such as Dominique Baudis.
A land of words
First of all, around the thriller. Indeed, thrillers and detective novels are honored thanks to festivals dedicated to them such as Polars du Sud in Toulouse - an association created in 2008 by enthusiasts, which has become a reference of the genre, second in France after Quais des Polar in Lyon - which every year, on the second weekend of October, invites about fifty French-speaking authors but also Italians, Spaniards, Americans, Argentinians, Croatians, Poles, Greeks or British to present their works. Film screenings, writing workshops, murder party, giant Cluedo, rally... follow one another during these few dark days in the pink city; or Le 122 in Lectoure (Gers), which since 2013 has been putting Gascony on time for the "Polars and police stories" fair.
Among the successful authors, the master of the detective genre is Bernard Minier. Although born in Béziers, he grew up in the Midi-toulousain (Montréjeau, Tarbes and Toulouse). His stories are set in the Pyrenees and in the Occitan capital around his hero, Commander Martin Servaz. His saga starts with Glacé, first novel published in 2011. It takes place in a valley and a hydroelectric power station in the high mountains, near the Spanish border, in Arruns (Hautes-Pyrénées). Thrills guaranteed! For his part, Jean-Baptiste Del Amo, from Toulouse, reached the top step of the Goncourt du Premier roman in 2009 with Une éducation libertine!
Otherwise, Marathon des mots puts the literature of yesterday and today in the hands of actors and actresses, reciting verse and prose for a few days in June. This international festival owes its existence to Olivier Poivre d'Arvor and Olivier Gluzman. With more than 170 literary events, debates, readings, literary cafés, meetings and shows in nearly 80 locations (bookstores, theaters, cultural centers, neighborhood houses in Toulouse and the region ...), it has become one of the most important literary events in France, gathering more than 60,000 spectators per edition. Among the guests: Salman Rushdie, J. M. G. Le Clézio, Umberto Eco, Michel Tournier, Russell Banks, Annie Ernaux, Daniel Pennac, Jean d'Ormesson, Edmonde Charles-Roux... and artists: Isabelle Huppert, Fanny Ardant, Jean Rochefort, Nicole Garcia, Omar Sharif, André Dussollier, Richard Berry, Ariane Ascaride, Sami Frey, Lambert Wilson, Charles Berling, Michaël Lonsdale?
Among the most widely read French authors in the world, for his particular style defined as "philosophy-fiction" where animals play a leading role, the Toulouse-based Bernard Weber. He is particularly popular in South Korea where a survey placed him second among the most appreciated foreign authors! He is known for his trilogy Les Fourmis, Demain les chats and recently in 2021, La Prophétie des abeilles.
On the youth side, Violette Mirgue, the little mouse is a great success. Marie-Constance Mallard takes children to discover the Pyrenees, the Canal du Midi, Toulouse... in her exciting adventures.
