Wajdi Mouawad
The Shadow Within That Writes
“Hero though he may be, Odysseus asks to be tied to the ship’s mast to resist the sirens’ song. Similarly, the poet puts up fierce resistance to the pull of knowledge. Not that he is against knowledge—on the contrary—but stubbornly, obstinately, he seeks to keep inaccessible a fragment that has always eluded knowledge. Just as every object casts a shadow, so too does knowledge have its own—one that, by definition, it is impossible for it to illuminate with its own light. To venture into this shadow, a stalker is absolutely essential. Certain things cannot be taught. Not only can they not be taught, but the very act of attempting to teach them immediately nullifies them. They owe their existence to the erasure of reason. Perhaps to madness, a trance, a loss, a drift. Perhaps also—and indeed, most likely—to blood, which plays a major role in the intensity of a shadow that finds its origins in the depths of our violence and barbarism.”
This book is based on the opening lecture delivered at the Collège de France on Thursday, February 6, 2025, by Wajdi Mouawad, visiting professor for the 2024–2025 academic year holding the Annual Chair “The Invention of Europe through languages and cultures,” created in partnership with the Ministry of Culture.
Mouwad, W., The Shadow Within That Writes, Paris, Collège de France, “Opening Lectures ” series, no. 335, 2025.
