MIT / French Library Author Series: Before I Forget with Anne Pauly

Anne Pauly is a Paris-based French writer and winner of the Prix du Livre Inter and Prix Robert Walser. Her debut novel, Before I Forget, was also shortlisted for the Prix Goncourt, Prix Femina, and Prix Wepler. Before turning to fiction, she worked as a journalist and wrote on music, feminism, queer culture, and literature. In Before I Forget, Pauly recounts the aftermath of her father’s death and the complicated task of mourning a man who was at once a self-taught philosopher and romantic, and an alcoholic whose violence marked his family. As Anne sorts through his belongings and prepares his funeral, she tries to reconcile these contradictory versions of the man she has lost. Told with wit and tenderness, the novel is a tragicomic exploration of grief, family, class, and the complicated bonds between parents and children. The conversation will be moderated by Bruno Perreau, Cynthia L. Reed Professor of French Studies at MIT and a specialist in contemporary French literature and culture, critical theory, and politics. He is the author of thirteen books, including Queer Theory: The French Response and, most recently, Spheres of Injustice: The Ethical Promise of Minority Presence (MIT Press, 2025).