I met Ian Monk in May 2002 by François Caradec at a meeting of the Oulipo where I was "guest of honor"
.* A year later, In May 2003, returning to Paris for a week of vacation, I attended Jussieu, Amphi 24, a Thursday Oulipo after which I joined some Oulipians - Jacques Toy Fair Olivier, Ian Monk - and their friends (I remember that Mark Lapprand was present) for dinner on the terrace coffee. It was sweet that night.
I could not remember how the idea had first germinated in my little head, but it already existed since , abruptly I suggested to Ian collaboration. A proposal was three signs: 'N', '/' and 'S'. Because he lived in Lille and Toulouse to me, a title as cardinal axis: North / South.
Ian replied immediately that it was ok but he wanted to write in English .** And he began to scribble on the tablecloth in the form of bilingual stanza that we would start using a few days later to call our common book . After that I did nothing but follow suit.
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How many were there of combinations in a bilingual stanza with four verses in both English and French? 70.
Should we be content to compose a single sequence or we had to write it in another so that the symmetry is perfect? Answer 2: 140 poems so.
And these 140 poems were we not not translate into mirror so that readers could possibly find there uniglottes their young? Yes: 140 x 2 = 280 poems.
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We send e-mails once or twice a day along the North-South. At the end of summer, it seems, the book was written .***
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* That's how you say.
** It has been shown with Plouk town (Cambourakis, 2007) he could write in French.
*** Then published late 2004, editions of Waiting.
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