Researchers in modern and contemporary French literature must frequent the Jacques Doucet Literary Library, Place du Panthéon in Paris, for its wealth of rare documents, manuscripts and correspondences. For my part, I went there almost continuously from 1960, when I was still a student at the University of Grenoble, to prepare my diploma on Dada. Then, I explored thoroughly the documents left by Tristan Tzara, in order to establish his Complete Works in 6 volumes published by Flammarion. Not to mention my investigations concerning Alfred Jarry, André Breton and his surrealist friends. I still have in my ear the laugh of François Chapon, the then Curator, my elder by ten years, perfectly erudite, always in search of the Berlin journal Das Bordel. This is to say that, as soon as it was a question of dealing with this library, I had to deal with the Tristan Tzara fund.

Colloquium program February 5-8, 2004, at the Sorbonne

February 5: Day 1. General approach and poetry Address by Bernard Bosredon

Morning. Introduction and scientific stakes: Session chair: Claude Pichois

• Yves Peyré. Portrait of Jacques Doucet and history of the Library
• Jean Bessière and Stéphane Michaud. The BLJD and the internationalism of culture
• Almuth Grésillon (ITEM). Genetic approach to modern manuscripts
• Maryse Vassevière. Aragon, Doucet and literary history

Afternoon. Poetry 1: Session chair: Philippe Hamon

• Michel Décaudin. Apollinaire at Doucet
• Étienne-Alain Hubert. The Reverdy fund
• Henri Béhar. The Shallow Waters of the Inner World: The Tristan Tzara Collection at the BLJD.
• Pascaline Mourier-Casille. The Breton fund READINGS: authors read (Silvia Baron Supervielle, Jacques Dupin, Pierre Lartigue, Bernard Noël, Bernard Vargaftig)

February 6: Day 2. Literary approach. Poetry and prose

Morning. Poetry 2: Session chair: Daniel Delbreil

• Marie-Claire Dumas. Desnos at Doucet
• Van Kelly. René Char: poetry and the initiatory journey of the arts of space, from the Tomb of Secrets to Flux of the Magnet
• Gérard Farasse. "Ex-dono". Small reflection on the sendings of Ponge and to Ponge
• Michel Collot. André du Bouchet: a writing on the move
• Dominique Carlat. Writing in Gherasim Luca: the slow erasure of circumstance

Afternoon. Prose 1: Session chair: Mireille Sacotte

• Bertrand Marchal. The Mallarmé Fund at Doucet
• Frédéric Worms. Bergson in the literary library of his time
• Béatrice Didier. The edition of the Complete Works of Charles du Bos
• Jacques Lecarme. Suarès and Malraux
• Catherine Maubon. The Leiris fund

PROJECTION The Mystery of the Château de dé, film by Man Ray, AND COCKTAIL

February 7: Day 3. Literary approach. Contemporary prose and art at Doucet

Morning. Prose 2: Session chair: Marc Dambre

• Eric Marty. Reading and editing the manuscripts of André Gide's Journal
• Bruno Curatolo. Family reunion and editorial revival: Gadenne, Calet, Guérin
• Martin Mégevand. Pinget seen by Beckett, Beckett according to Pinget, the unpublishable
• Ingrid Astier. The Cioran fund
• Dolorès Lyotard. Jean-François Lyotard "Tomb of the Intellectual and Other Papers"

Afternoon. Art at Doucet: Session chair: Jean-Louis Leutrat

• Murielle Gagnebin. Some paintings by Nicolas de Staël in view of his correspondence deposited at the Doucet Fund: mask or modesty?
• Noël Herpe. René Clair: a work in negative
• Françoise Hamon. Jacques Doucet's hotel Conclusion: Michel Collot and Yves Peyré

VENUE: University of Paris 3, Louis Liard Amphitheater (at the Sorbonne, 17 rue de la Sorbonne, Paris 5th)

Read my communication

Text reprinted in: H. Béhar, History of Literary Facts, Classiques Garnier, 2022, pp. 137-148: History of Literary Facts - The Shallow Waters of the Inner World - The Tristan Tzara Collection at the Jacques Doucet Literary Library (classiques-garnier.com)

Publication:

The Jacques Doucet Literary Library: Archive of Modernity: Proceedings of the colloquium organized on February 5, 6 and 7, 2004 by the UMR 7171 "Writings of Modernity" (University of Paris 3 – Sorbonne nouvelle / CNRS) Texts collected and presented by Michel Collot, Yves Peyré and Maryse Vassevière Presses Sorbonne nouvelle / Les Éditions des Cendres, 2007. 480 pages. Summary: This volume pays tribute to Jacques Doucet, creator of the library, and to all those who, since Suarès, Aragon, Reverdy and Breton, his first advisors, have contributed to making it a living memory of contemporary creation. It presents some of the most important funds that are preserved there and allow us to better know, among others, Mallarmé, Apollinaire, Reverdy, Breton, Aragon, Tzara, Desnos, Char, Ponge, Luca, Du Bouchet, Bergson, Du Bos, Gide, Malraux, Calet, Gadenne, Guérin, Leiris, Cioran, Beckett, Pinget, René Clair, Nicolas de Staël and Lyotard. It draws up a balance sheet of the work that has been devoted to them but also proposes methods and new leads for future research. A directory of the funds allows one to get a more complete idea of the riches of this heritage in constant evolution. Unpublished texts by Bernard Noël, Silvia Baron Supervielle, Bernard Vargaftig and Pierre Lartigue manifest its vitality. The work is illustrated with numerous color reproductions of documents, mostly handwritten.