Virginie Despentes

 

portrait and making of bye bye blondie
photographed by GIL LESAGE
interview by OLIVIER ZAHM

 

Ever since I read her first book, Baise-Moi, in 1993, I wanted to interview Virgine Despentes. She’s one of my favorite French writers from of generation. Despentes began working as a teenager in Lyon, as a record seller, rock music journalist, part-time prostitute, and porn-movie reviewer. After falling in love with a woman for the first time, she left Paris to live with her in Barcelona. While there Despentes finished her book-length essay, King Kong Théorie (2006), which blends autobiography and feminist theory in a style accessible to teenage girls. Now she’s back in Paris editing her second feature film, based on her novel, Bye Bye Blondie.

OLIVIER ZAHM — You’re back living in Paris after living in Spain. Why did you go away and what brought you back?
VIRGINIE DESPENTES — I…