Tokyo-SANA
Sixteen French and Japanese authors participated in a literary experiment aimed at co-writing a novel in less than 24 hours aboard a luxury train departing from Kyoto city towards Matsue in western Japan, in an initiative to enhance cultural and literary exchange between the two countries.
Initiative Details
The Pakistani newspaper Dawn reported in an article published the day before yesterday that the initiative is organized by the French association "Writing in Motion," with the participation of eight French-speaking writers and eight Japanese writers, including the French novelist Muriel Barbery, author of the 2006 novel "The Hedgehog Elegance."
Working Mechanisms
Participants aimed to complete a novel of approximately 200 pages before the "Twilight Express Mizukaze" train arrived in Matsue the following morning. The work was to combine the voices of the sixteen writers into a coherent plot, rather than being a collection of separate stories.
Before the journey began, the writers agreed on the main theme and general plot outline, with each responsible for developing a character within the novel set inside the train, using simultaneous interpreters to facilitate communication between participants writing in French and Japanese.
Participants and Publication
Barbery explained that the challenge lies in bringing together multiple literary voices into a cohesive work, while French writer Christophe Honoré noted that the Japanese landscapes passing by the train windows would reflect in the novel's details.
The list of participants included French writer Hervé Le Tellier, winner of the Goncourt Prize in 2020, and Japanese writer Toh Enjo, winner of the Akutagawa Prize in 2012, alongside novelist Hitomi Kanehara and poet Matsu Tawara, among others.
The initiative is an extension of a literary experiment organized by the association in Canada in 2015, based on the ideas of the "Oulipo" literary movement that emerged in the 1960s, which sought to innovate new writing methods by imposing specific rules and constraints on creative work.
The novel is expected to be published in French and Japanese in the spring of 2027, a step highlighting the potential of collaborative writing in enhancing cultural and literary interaction between the two countries.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)
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