· By Morgane Allietta

Interview: Mahault Mollaret, writer

Mahault Mollaret, author of KO standing, published by Plon - Photo portrait: Nina Koltchitskaia 

Why is writing so important in your life?

My desire to write was born out of a period of boredom. I was locked in an office all day and to kill time I had fun writing a short story a day that had to fit in one page, with a beginning and an end. It then became like a necessary sport, a daily training. Then I wanted to go into a subject, to follow a character but always in this process of very short chapters, which one after the other, would end up becoming a book.

What future do you imagine for writing in this world increasingly focused on images?

I cannot imagine the disappearance of the book object. The books will always stay, because the people who read them love them too much. And anyway, in terms of image, it will always be in good taste to have a library to decorate your living room ...
Beyond that, I think that all the new means of expression that are at our disposal are good, in particular via social networks which impose limited character constraints, which oblige to be concise, efficient, I do not use them but It reminds me of the days before free, where our phone plans were precious, every text counted. You had to have imagination to make yourself understood and avoid the "OR 4fé". It was playful, a language apart, framed. The pitfall is that it just leaves this framework, overflows on school copies and the simplification of words and language out of laziness such as farmacie instead of pharmacy, does not please me completely. 

Tell me about three women who changed your life.

Dorothy (character from the movie the Wizard of Oz): it was the first aesthetic shock of my life. The first time I admired the beauty of a young woman, who could not be given an age. She had everything from childhood and at the same time I admired her as one admires her big sister or her teacher. Lost, uprooted by a storm, she had to manage to find her way back… I envied her adventure and often dreamed that something exceptional would happen to me.

Jane Campion: after seeing "an angel at my table" her film which paints the magnificent portrait of Janet Frame, I wanted to see everything. It's the first once I've been interested in someone's work in its entirety.

Annie Saumont: Queen of the news, who has just left us. The desire to write comes from her, I believe, she is one of those authors who inspire and make you want to write. For me, short story is one of the most difficult forms of writing, and when it's successful, there is nothing better. We owe him in particular the translation of JD Sallinger's Catcher.

What's your motto?

"Impose your luck, squeeze your happiness and go towards your risk." Watching you, they will get used to it. »René Char

 “Ad misse” is to authorize oneself. In 2017, what should a woman know how to allow herself?

Everything, daring everything, all the time. Don't apologize for being in someone else's shoes. Don't just apologize for being.

What is an Admitted Woman?

The Admitted woman has no age. It is a woman who, by wearing the suit, becomes an improved version of herself. A tailor like a costume in the noble sense of the term. Me, Admitted woman, I store my suit next to my beautiful dresses for special occasions.