Summary: 'The Existential Me' is a series marking the centenary of the birth of Albert Camus and complementing Radio 3's documentary about him. Five people working in different disciplines write essays about existentialism and its impact on their work and their lives. The novelist and poet Michèle Roberts, half French, has been considerably influenced by existentialist literature. Her essay begins with an examination of Raymond beating up his nameless girlfriend in Camus's 'L'Etranger' - and getting let off by the police - then moves on to the works of Simone de Beauvoir and a discussion of feminism as a politics. She considers, too, existentialism as it appears in Madeleine Bourdouxhe, and how she has learned from both these writers.
