A life dedicated to books ---- A meeting, a group of thirty-somethings,
a commercial publisher, Edmond Thomas. You've already seen these booksprinted by him on bookstore shelves, at Publico of course, or elsewhere.
Plein chant editions, that's him! 500 books published thanks to a
printing press and a publishing house. In its collection Le peuple du
livre, Les éditions l'Echappée felt compelled to publish the exchanges
and memories evoked during this meeting in Plein chant, story of a
commercial publisher. On the back cover, this observation: "Disdained
proletarian authors, unknown engravers, minor poets signing great poems,
so many forgotten literary and artistic destinies begging to be a little
less forgotten." The Plein chant adventure began fifty years ago. With a
book in hand, everyone can appreciate the quality of the production, the
consistency of the catalog, and the choice of authors. Nothing
predestined Edmond Thomas to create Plein chant, other than a passion
for books, the written word, and his sensitivity to the fate of ordinary
people.
As usual in this collection, the reader will appreciate the quality of
the layout and the illustrations, all taken from the Plein chant books.
Linocuts by Pascale Hémery, etchings by Martial Potémont, photos of
friends, the tailpieces, and banners by Gilles Chapacou punctuate the
pages of this work. Edmond Thomas, a young boy from Paris, from the 15th
arrondissement, the names of the streets, the squares, and the Square
Saint-Lambert are familiar to me. By chance, he worked as a harpiste at
Brodard et Taupin, at a time when the 15th arrondissement still hosted
businesses. He discovered Prévert through Paroles, then Henry Poulaille.
Some wonderful pages on Poulaille. The reading bug would never leave
him. He spent time at Armand Colin's. The life of publishing houses,
that of workshops, was fascinating; memories sometimes collided, but
this made the pages even more vivid. It was the era of the great
bookstores of the Latin Quarter, Corti, La Joie de lire by Maspero,
which published his first work, Voix d'en bas.
Poetry, the Music of the Text
And it was the discovery of poetry thanks to the Poètes d'aujourd'hui
collection by Seghers. Edmond Thomas developed a passion for this music
of the text, the sound of words. In 1971, he moved to Bassac in
Charente. Still poetry with Pierre Boujut, La Tour de feu. He began
publishing mimeographs at the printing house, learning on the job with
friends. Friendship is frequently evoked throughout the pages, as is
working-class poetry. The names follow one another, what a magnificent
anthology of proletarian culture. In 1979, he launched the Voix d'en bas
collection; his first publication was L'Ascension de Lucien Bourgeois. A
must-read! This literature, according to Edmond Thomas, depicts people
who emerge from poverty through hard work and determination.
In printing, during the 1970s and 2000s, technology evolved
considerably; it was necessary to adapt. Here too, the pages are
fascinating and evocative for those who lived through this period. As he
produces beautiful work, there is no shortage of orders. Edmond cites a
few publishers, including Claire Paulhan, whose quality publications we
regularly praise on the program Au fil des pages on Radio Libertaire. To
produce this beautiful work, you need passion, a love of books. Edmond
doesn't follow the canonical rules of production, but read him
describing the typefaces (Ah, Garamond!) and the work of the "book people."
In the final part of the book, Edmond Thomas presents an impressive list
of collections, published works, authors, and publishers. A fascinating
life evoked with modesty, a kind of grandeur.
* Edmond Thomas
Plein chant,
Story of a labor publisher
L'Echappée, 2025
https://monde-libertaire.net/?articlen=8540
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