Since the end of the 20th century, the act of collecting testimonies from victims of historical events or gathering accounts of ordinary lives has been at the heart of literary creation. Whether it involves recording the oral history of a region, as Jean-Paul Goux does; passing on the stories of Tutsi survivors, as Jean Hatzfeld does; or giving voice to the maimed Yellow Vests protesters, as Sophie Divry does, contemporary literature continues to listen to the fabric of society. 

How does one give voice to others? How does this approach transform the figure of the author? What ethical and political issues underlie this work of collection, from recording to presentation? Through these examples, a portrait emerges of the contemporary writer as a collector of voices.