Author of the book “Comme un parfum d'écume quantique” published in 2021, Jean-Paul Jéhanno, alias Jean Jéhan, looks back on his past to enlighten us on his latest novel, La femme à la lanterne, published last October.
Where are you from ?
I was born in Nantes in 1949. But I grew up in the steam of the SNCF, my father was a train driver. I was entitled to free vouchers, so I invited friends and we sometimes went around France in a weekend. It gave me a taste for adventure. At that time, the train was the future! Besides, unlike today's young people, the future has never scared me. On the contrary, I have always been eager to discover it.
What was your first relationship with literature?
One of my uncles, a canon, a sort of bishop, had suggested that I go and study with the Jesuits. That's what I did, from the age of 12 to 18. The Jesuits introduced me to philosophy, and one of my teachers had taught me to appreciate poetry. So at the age of 12, I wrote my first poem.
Has a novel made you want to write?
Of course! 'Le Grand Meaulnes' by Alain-Fournier. This romantic novel immediately made me want to write. I was 12 years old and, at the time, I was in love with a girl who took the bus every morning. We didn't talk to each other, but in my imagination, we were both on a sailboat, off to discover the world. I've always been a big dreamer! So I started writing my first novel. It was about a hundred pages long. I even wanted to send it to ORTF (Office de Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française Editor's note) to make a TV movie. But I lost it, unfortunately.
What were you doing before you started writing your first novel?
For 20 years, I worked at the Departmental Equipment Directorate. I was a technician, I built roads and I ruined the landscape for years. But today, my daughter works in the environment. So, I always say that my daughter is cleaning up her father's mess! Then, I worked in Saint-Martin, for almost 10 years in the management of European funds and those of the Urban Policy. Finally, I set up my own business before retiring a year ago.
What brought you to Saint Martin in 2004?
I had been called to Saint-Martin to solve a flooding problem at the Grand-Case airport. I had found a solution but it was far too convoluted so we chose the solution proposed by another specialist here. A solution much less expensive and complex than mine. Sometimes, when we arrive in places like Mayotte or Reunion, we tend to share our ideas from mainland France. Whereas by talking to the locals and getting to know the territory, it works better.
In your second book, the story takes place between 1600 and 2100. How did you reconstruct the history of Saint-Martin from the 17th century?
Christophe Enoch, a Saint-Martinois who collected many documents after having conducted archaeological research on the territory, gave me everything he had. There were writings of governors and a pile of other old documents dating back to 1600.
Would you share a juicy anecdote about the making of your latest novel?
ChatGPT wrote my preface. I got an impressively fast result.
Interview by LM
https://faxinfo.fr/en/portrait-jean-jehan-le-futur-ne-ma-jamais-fait-peur-au-contraire-jai-toujours-ete-presse-de-le-decouvrir/
