J.H.'s Literary Feuilleton: A Life and Work
The author reflects on their early 1960s literary column in a communist weekly, disavowing any claim to professional criticism. Their political engagement and focus on avant-garde movements—surrealism, its dissidents like Artaud and Bataille, the Nouveau Roman, Tel Quel, and modernists such as Joyce and Céline—led them to deliberately ignore mainstream French literature deemed outdated or reactionary. Consequently, Romain Gary's novels had no place in their personal literary pantheon.
Key facts
- The author wrote a literary column in a communist weekly in the early 1960s.
- The author does not consider themselves a professional critic.
- Their interests included avant-garde literature, surrealism, and dissidents like Artaud and Bataille.
- They also followed the Nouveau Roman and early writings of the Tel Quel group.
- Modernists like Joyce and Céline were favored despite being out of favor in both communist and bourgeois press.
- The author deliberately neglected French literature they saw as outdated or reactionary.
- Romain Gary's novels were excluded from the author's literary pantheon.
Entities
Artists
- Antonin Artaud
- Georges Bataille
- James Joyce
- Louis-Ferdinand Céline
- Romain Gary
Institutions
- Tel Quel
Sources
- artpress —