Valérie-Catherine Richez 1947–
paris, france
A
painter and poet, Richez first exhibited her paintings in 1992 at the
Librairie des amis des livres. In 2001 she exhibited at the Galérie du
Fleuve in Paris. A member of the Académie d’art, Richez is a well-known illustrator of volumes by fellow poets, including Franck André Jamme’s
De la multiplication des brèches et des obstacles (1993). Her media include pencil,
ink, pastel, gouache, and watercolor. Accompanying texts serve to bring out both
the melancholy and the humor of her work. Principal works: Faits d’ombre, 1993;
Lieux de rien, 1998; Échappées, 2000; Petits sorciers, 2001; Les Blanchis, 2002; Petite
âme, 2002.
Little Soul
‘‘Think of the boat departing from the quay, slowly leaving the shore, and of
this dark living water, which comes to crash in waves between it and your
astonishment at being there.
‘‘Remember the mouthless face, the ash which settled on the mouthless face.
Its intense mystery.
‘‘Think about knowledge. How far would you go to test yourself? Until disap-
pearing into your eye? One of your voices whispers that danger lurks on these
roads.—But if not, unscathed, where would you be? Planted in the earth, always
wearing the same face...
‘‘Ponder the clumsiness of your quest. Sleep, sleep... There is no truth, but,
blow upon blow, an image which emerges from the stone, then crumbles.
‘‘Think of the earth. Your feet upon it; and others continuing their path
below. Nothing ever stops, really, except the persistent murmur which has been
prevented from being.
‘‘Recall that dream in which you were suddenly three: instead of your two
hands two trembling faces were talking. Each described one of your lives. And
one of you said: ‘But... then how many of you were there in the nest!?’