ARTCENA collects documentary resources for each text selected by Contxto network : an English-subtitled interview of the author and a documented file in English to help artistic groups who want to know more about those texts.
Doreen (Éditions Lieux-Dits) by David Geselson
based on Lettres à D. by André Gorz (Éditions Galilée)
translated by Jennifer Gay
In 2006, André Gorz published Letter to D, a confession addressed to his wife Doreen Keir, who was suffering from an incurable disease at the time. In it, the writer recounted their relationship, whisking the reader through 58 years of their life together. A year later, André and Doreen were found dead in their bed. Doreen is a counterpoint to this confession made public, in which she is lent her own voice. The year is 2007, on a quiet evening in the couple's house. André and Doreen have prepared a meal, and welcome us into their home. An hour later, they will go on to take their own lives – but for the time being, they talk. This is an adaptation, a borrowing: a tentative attempt at striking a balance between authentic documentary and a fictional retelling of the couple's story. A portrait of a cherished woman we do not know, destined to die next to the man who claimed he owed her his life.