Jean Giono et al, Le Contadour (04)

Les Rencontres du Contadour were a series of biennial anti-war meetings (Easter and September) between September 1935 and September 1939, which lasted a fortnight and were instigated by Jean Giono, who bought property there with a view to creating a kind of utopia. It was after the publication of Que ma joie demeure (1935) that the idea came to Giono, a novel which describes the ideal of a simple life in the country, an artisanal life as opposed to town life with its factories and machine production. The group consisted of mainly young intellectuals, some of them Parisian, and a series of papers were published after each meeting.* Giono bought an old mill which was renovated, although it is now in ruins. The farm he bought too now belongs to Les Amis de Jean Giono, with its interesting beehive-shaped structures at the side.

*These were published as Les Cahiers du Contadour, of which there were nine.

My Jean Giono posts:
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Sylvie Giono: Jean Giono à Manosque
Jean Giono: L' Homme qui plantait des arbres
Jean Giono: Le Hussard sur le toit
Jean Giono: Colline | Hill of Destiny
Jean Giono: Un de Baumugnes | Lovers Are Never Losers
Jean Giono in Manosque
Jean Giono: Notes sur l'affaire Dominici
Jean Giono's grave, Manosque, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
Pierre Citron: Jean Giono 1895–1970
Jean Giono: Regain | Second Harvest
Jean Giono: Que ma joie demeure
Jean Giono: Pour saluer Melville
Jean Giono et al, Le Contadour