Dialogue with Mots du Marquis, distiller of worms on Instagram

Pierre-Nicolas Marqués takes to the streets to offer strangers phrases that mend, and sows poetry in the digital world. The 2.0 artist talks about his creation and his transition to music with Love shot.

I first met Pierre-Nicolas Marquès, alias Mots du Marquis, by chance, a few years ago on a café terrace. He had just published his first book, a travelogue about his crossing of the Pyrenees by bike for the Alzheimer's Research Foundation, and I was secretly dreaming of writing one. At the time, I had just launched my poetry Instagram account. @lettres_dorees, he already had a great community on his site @motsdumarquis. And while 100,000 subscribers now follow him on a daily basis, the phenomenon begs the question: what are we really looking for in these virtual words? Is it literature, comfort, or a new form of reflection and presence with others? An encounter with an author whose success questions our relationship with poetry as much as with ourselves.

Le Regard LibreWhy did you decide to put poetry on social networks? As a place of instantaneous, unmeasured speech, we don't necessarily think that this format could find an audience, and yet your account has proved the contrary.

Mots du marquis: At first, I had never considered social networking. For a long time, I kept my writings secret in a notebook. But one day, as I was sharing them with friends, I finally summoned up the courage to broadcast my texts to others who might resonate with my poems. So, four years ago, I took the plunge. Poetry on the net is a way of making it accessible, dusting it off and making it less elitist. Today, I'm delighted to see the buzz around these videos and contemporary poetry.

Do you think your success, and more generally the proliferation of poetic content on social networks, reveals something about our times?

Poetry has made a big comeback in recent years, especially among younger readers. It's no longer associated solely with the great classic authors, such as Victor Hugo or Guillaume Apollinaire. Today, contemporary poetry is finding its place on social networks, thanks to the many content creators I admire, and that's a great development. People are rediscovering poetry in a new, more accessible light, as a support in an often complex world. Poetry resonates with a particular echo thanks to this new digital dissemination, creating a space where we can find ourselves, a comfort and a break, far from the daily hustle and bustle.

Some of the texts that have made your name are quite raw, like words from your diary: what role does poetry play in your life?

Poetry is above all a kind of therapy. I write to make myself feel better. It's a way of releasing emotions, of putting into words what's going through me. If my writing touches other people, all the better. But above all, I write for myself. With the public, it's become a human adventure. Poetry has enabled me to give meaning to my life, a meaning I hadn't found elsewhere.

Your community is used to discovering you as an optimist, distilling heart-warming words on the streets of Paris. Love Shot («Erschossene Liebe»), You seem to be saying that the problem is not love, but the way we live relationships today. Are you resigned to contemporary love?

While I try to use poetry to spread positive content, it has always allowed me to convey raw truths. With Love Shot («Erschossene Liebe»), I'm deliberately going against the grain of the ideal love that everyone wants, but few dare to face up to. Love implies a personal investment, a work on oneself. With this song, I want to open our eyes to love as it is, with its imperfections and challenges. A nod to Valentine's Day, since it was released just a few days before February 14th, as if to knock this holiday off its pedestal.

Did you feel the need to enter this new world, as if poetry had reached its limits in expressing your feelings?

Poetry and music have been intertwined for a long time. I've always been inspired by artists like Oxmo Puccino or Grand Corps Malade, who blend these two worlds. Rap, in particular, has had a huge influence on me. But at some point, I realized that music was a real team effort. It wasn't just me and a pen. You need a beatmaker, musicians, people who believe in your project. When I published my first book (Freewheeling memory), I made a promise to myself to get into music, and today I'm keeping it with Love Shot («Erschossene Liebe»). It's a natural step in my artistic journey, a way of giving another dimension to my writing.

So what does music bring you that you've never heard before?

Poetry and music are two different forms of expression, but they complement each other well. If poetry has an immediate power, it takes on another dimension, another energy when carried by music.

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