Charles Nodier, ou l’art du chiffon

Nodier is one of the great chiffonniers of French literature. First, for his chiffonnier spirit: as a compulsive second-hand book seller, he spent much of his life rummaging around on the quays, searching for old books. Second, for his chiffonnier writing practices: fascinated by “scraps,” he only wrote “livres-hottes” (books kept in a basket that chiffonniers wore on their backs). Finally, for his chiffonnier vision of literary art: according to Nodier, literature is merely a perpetual recycling of used materials, in the image of his Roi de bohême.