Marcelin Pleynet's Singular Literary Journey and Jacques Martinez's Artistic Memoir

A new issue of the literary journal Faire part is dedicated to the itineraries of Marcelin Pleynet, a poet and critic whose work has been marginalized by mainstream press and opinion, according to Philippe Sollers. The issue includes contributions from multiple voices, including Denis Roche, who praised Pleynet's 1965 collection Comme. Separately, artist Jacques Martinez has published Espagnol de merde ou les Cinq Saisons with Grasset, a memoir spanning three years that intertwines his personal history—born in El-Biar, exiled to France in 1956, raised in Nice—with his artistic development. Martinez, associated with Nouveaux Réalistes and Support-Surface, admires painters like Agnes Martin, Martin Barré, Giacometti, Matisse, and Picasso. His series Les Cinq Saisons (actually eight works) and subsequent sculpture series Bodegon are discussed. The book explores themes of roots, Europe, and Catholicism. Recent publications by Pleynet include Comme la poésie la peinture (2010), Nouvelle Liberté de pensée (2011), and a reissue of Voyage en Chine (2012).