Espars

After a bibliophile print run in Nice in 2021, distinguished in 2022 in the Printemps des poètes anthology Là où dansent les éphémères, the epic poem Espars by Sébastien Cagnoli is published by Éditions du Ver à Soie, with original illustrations, and immediately won the 2023 Méditerranée poésie prize. The story evokes a crossing from Villefranche to Cagliari under Victor-Amédée III, in an experimental style obeying a few formal constraints, notably an “irrational meter”. The rhythmic and musical character of the poem inspired Amédée Briggen and Michel Pallanca to create a show consisting of readings of representative extracts, accompanied by a grand piano and toy pianos. The music chosen with the author dialogues with the text, both in terms of content and form.