Following the death of Jean-Jacques Sempé on Thursday, August 11, we are republishing this interview with the cartoonist, first published in Le Monde on February 18, 2018.
The creator, along with René Goscinny, of the famous Aventures du Petit Nicolas, Jean-Jacques Sempé is also the author of 35 books of cartoons. Musiques, the latest to be published, is also the subject of an exhibition in Paris.
I wouldn't have gotten here if...
If I hadn't heard Duke Ellington one day on the radio. He was a guy that I loved, that I still love. Thanks to him, I made sense of a lot of music. Thanks to him, I was mesmerized by the talent of others. He brought me the joy I needed.
Is this because your childhood in Bordeaux was unhappy?
It wasn't too much fun, no. I don't know anything about my father. He was my mom's boss, and she was a secretary. A charming man, I heard. He had seduced my mother. When I arrived, it can't have been fun for anyone. After that, there was Mr. Sempé, my stepfather. I was called Sempé like him, I suppose he recognized me. I was put into foster care and I almost died because I was mistreated. My mother came and collected me. She and my stepfather were poor people, but they did what they could. They were miserable, so of course they were always fighting.
Was Mr. Sempé a salesman?
He tried to sell tin cans, but it didn't go too well. Of course, when he had sold a few, he would celebrate and come home acting a little strange. My mother would tell him off. In the end, he couldn't help but slap her around a bit. One day, my mother yelled "Jeannot!" – Jeannot, that was me – "Jeannot, come quick, he wants to strangle me!" I gave my stepfather a shiner and it made him angry. He threw a huge punch back that smashed the wall. I had ducked and if I hadn't, the poor old man would have killed me.
My mother would say to me: "Come any closer and I'll give you a slap so hard that the wall will give you another." She would give me such a terrible clout, I would go careering into the wall. It was an oppressive atmosphere, and I was a little kid who was always getting into mischief.
How did you feel in the midst of all this violence?
I was ashamed of my mother, who used to delight the neighborhood with her whining. I wanted to be like everyone else. I was tired. Poverty was terrible. We didn't have enough money for the rent, so we moved to a cheaper place, further away. I didn't dare say that my parents hadn't bought me books for school, so I said I didn't need them. I lied all the time, to everyone.
You have 78.79% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.