Een bouc in walsche, a Book Written in French

In late medieval and early modern times, books, as well as the people who produced and read (or listened to) them, moved between regions, social circles, and languages with relative ease. Yet, in the multilingual Low Countries, francophone literature was both internationally mobile and firmly rooted in local soil. The five contributions collected in this volume demonstrate that while in general issues of ‘otherness’ were resolved without difficulty, at other times (linguistic) differences were perceived as a heartfelt reality.

Francophone Literature in the Low Countries (1200-1600)

In late medieval and early modern times, books, as well as the people who produced and read (or listened to) them, moved between regions, social circles, and languages with relative ease. Yet, in the multilingual Low Countries, francophone literature was both internationally mobile and firmly rooted in local soil. The five contributions collected in this volume demonstrate that while in general issues of ‘otherness’ were resolved without difficulty, at other times (linguistic) differences were perceived as a heartfelt reality. Texts and books in French, Latin, and Dutch were as interrelated and mobile as their authors. As awareness of the francophone literature of the medieval and early modern Low Countries continues to grow, texts in all three languages will be ever more strongly connected in an intricate and multilingual weave.

The fate of African mask in the works of French-speaking writers in West and Central Africa

The article examines the attitude of contemporary African writers to the traditional zoomorphic and anthropomorphic masks. In the 1960s–70s, for the supporters of the theory of negritude, the sacred mask embodied the spirit of ancestors and an inextricable connection with tradition. In a transitional era (the 1990s – the early 21st century), the process of desacralisation of the mask has been observed and such works appear in which the idea of the death of tradition is carried out. The article consistently examines the history of the emergence and strengthening of interest in the image of the African mask as the most striking symbol of African traditions on the part of cultural, art and scientific workers and the reflection of this symbol in the works of representatives of Francophone literature in West and Central Africa in different periods of time. The article concludes about the transformation of the views of the studied writers on the future of African traditions from an enthusiastic and romantic (as, for example, in the lyrics of Léopold Sédar Senghor or Samuel-Martin Eno Belinga) attitude to the images of the African past and tradition – masks, ancestor cult – to despair and bitterness from the awareness of the desacralisation of traditional objects and images and the profanation of tradition under the pressure of the realities of the present day (drama by Koffi Kwahulé). The attitude of African writers to the image of the mask, which is directly related to the themes of preserving traditions and the search of their identity by African literary heroes, is gradually changing, demonstrating the pessimistic view of Francophone African writers on the future of African traditions.

Les textes francophones malgaches sont-ils hybrides?

Francophone literary production in Madagascar, although born out of a colonial context, has found its own voice in terms of the codes and themes it uses. It seeks to take its place in Francophone literature through comprehension based on a common language. However, the works written in French are informed by the cultural, social, spiritual and linguistic context of Madagascar. The resulting texts are full of allusions to prestigious literary genres, shared concerns and concepts whose comprehension is difficult for a readership which understands the words without understanding their cultural connotations. It is necessary to reflect on the specific task of the literary critic who may, whilst respecting the dynamics of a literary text, add annotations in the form of ‘cultural translations’. The aim would be not to smother a body of work, which must be allowed to maintain its own nuances, but to allow better knowledge of the works and to make more effective the intercultural exchanges which are part of contemporary globalisation.

Spatial Boundaries, Abounding Spaces

Colonialism advanced its project of territorial expansion by changing the very meaning of borders and space. The colonial project scripted a unipolar spatial discourse that saw the colonies as an extension of European borders. In his monograph, Mohit Chandna engages with narrations of spatial conflicts in French and Francophone literature and film from the nineteenth to the early twenty-first century. In literary works by Jules Verne, Ananda Devi, and Patrick Chamoiseau, and film by Michael Haneke, Chandna analyzes the depiction of ever-changing borders and spatial grammar within the colonial project. In so doing, he also examines the ongoing resistance to the spatial legacies of colonial practices that act as omnipresent enforcers of colonial borders. Literature and film become sites that register colonial spatial paradigms and advance competing narratives that fracture the dominance of these borders. Through its analyses Spatial Boundaries, Abounding Spaces shows that colonialism is not a finished project relegated to our past. Colonialism is present in the here and now, and exercises its power through the borders that define us.

Popular Art Forms in the DRC

Popular literary forms have experienced a remarkable vitality in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. While it is difficult to define popular literature, it is necessary to recognize within Francophone literature the existence of types of texts that escape the attention of both discursive and institutional practices of legitimization, texts that are consigned to the margins of the dominant literary canon. In fact, these texts transgress the conventions of these literary “sub-genres,” such as detective novels, dime novels, exoticist novels, novels of manners, as well as graphic novels or comics. The success of Zamenga Batukezanga (1933–2000), still the most widely read and recognized writer in the DRC, as well as the recent rise of comic book writer Jérémie Nsingi, the author of many fanzines and small-run comic strips, reflect how these genres reconstruct canons and illustrate the emergence of a popular social imaginary.

Spatial Boundaries, Abounding Spaces

Colonialism advanced its project of territorial expansion by changing the very meaning of borders and space. The colonial project scripted a unipolar spatial discourse that saw the colonies as an extension of European borders. In his monograph, Mohit Chandna engages with narrations of spatial conflicts in French and Francophone literature and film from the nineteenth to the early twenty-first century. In literary works by Jules Verne, Ananda Devi, and Patrick Chamoiseau, and film by Michael Haneke, Chandna analyzes the depiction of ever-changing borders and spatial grammar within the colonial project. In so doing, he also examines the ongoing resistance to the spatial legacies of colonial practices that act as omnipresent enforcers of colonial borders. Literature and film become sites that register colonial spatial paradigms and advance competing narratives that fracture the dominance of these borders. Through its analyses Spatial Boundaries, Abounding Spaces shows that colonialism is not a finished project relegated to our past. Colonialism is present in the here and now, and exercises its power through the borders that define us.

The problems of migration process in Maghrebian literary milieu

As a product of the North African region, Maghrebian literary phenomenon combines specific features of three cultures – Arab, Berber and French and today has a special place in the world literature. The purpose of the proposed article is to demonstrate how the colonization of the Maghreb, the expansion of the French culture, the policy of assimilation and acculturation, a resistance movement of the colonized peoples led to the literary bilingualism of Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco that intensified the literary process in the region in a specific way. The novelty of the article consists in the fact that it reflects the deep connection between the Maghreb Francophone literature and the historical and cultural context. The Maghrebian francophone literature was constituted as early as in the 50s of the last century, but only in the 60s, thanks to the works of A. Memmi and A. Katibi was recognized as a separate area in the world literature. Research methods are a complex of comparative and historical- literary approaches, The fundamental relationship between the Maghrebian francophone literature and historical and cultural context distinguishes it from the mass of the so-called colonial literature. Conclusions. The Maghrebian francophone writers covering the issues of identity and nationality, revival of identity and rebellion, loss of identity and exile, as well as women’s emancipation, determine the specificity of this literary movement. The most famous representatives of the Maghrebian francophone literature are A. Djebar, M. Dib, A. Memmi, M. Feraun, K. Yasin etc. The creative work of these writers identified a new type of literature: d’expression franзaise, nationally specific to each of these countries. This article researches the migrants’ problems and the search for identity in the context of Franco-Maghrebian literary phenomenon of the works of two French-speaking Algerian writers and A.Djebar and L.Sebbar.

De la Flandre insolite au fantastique, une spécialité de la littérature belge francophone

This paper shows how the image of the uncanny Flanders, elaborated in the early nineteenth century by Madame de Staël as well as by French writers and voyagers contributed to the specificity of Belgian francophone literature and especially to the creation of the concept of the Belgian school of the bizarre. He examines the impact of the hetero-image on self-image and the role of literature in the formation and perpetuation of the stereotype of Belgium, land of strange. It reveals how Belgian writers used, petrified and propagated this image to build their difference and show their belgité in order to make it a specificity of Belgium.

La catégorie de la réticence et un retour au récit dans l’écriture de Jean-Philippe Toussaint. Une introduction

The Category of Reticence and a Return to the Story in Jean-Philippe Toussaint’s Writing. An Introduction The article presents the function of reticence in Jean-Philippe Toussaint’s writing in the context of the return to the story in francophone literature, initiated in the 80s of the 20th c. Jean-Philippe Toussaint is a contemporary Belgian writer, photographer and film-maker. He has written twelve novels and short stories, as well as authored films and installations. Belonging to the generation of minimalist writers, Toussaint sets his use of reticence in the context of the tendency to return to Genette’s category of story (récit). Since the publication of his novel La Réticence (1991) reticence has become the key category of his écriture. In his books, it shapes the form, the narration and the plot, the construction of characters, temporality, and space. Thus, its function in Toussaint’s writing enables us to observe idiosyncratic aspects of his “infinitesimalist” texts which play with the canonical, realistic model of the novel. Kategoria „powściągliwości” (réticence) i powrót do opowieści w pisarstwie Jeana-Philippe’a Toussainta. Wprowadzenie Artykuł stanowi próbę omówienia kategorii powściągliwości (fr. réticence) w prozie Jeana-Philippe’a Toussainta w kontekście powrotu do opowieści w literaturze frankofońskiej, zapoczątkowanego w latach 80. XX wieku. Jean-Philippe Toussaint to współczesny belgijski pisarz, fotograf i filmowiec. Napisał m.in. dwanaście powieści i kilka zbiorów krótkich form, jest także autorem filmów i instalacji. Jako przedstawiciel pokolenia pisarzy minimalistycznych Toussaint osadza wykorzystanie powściągliwości w kontekście zjawiska powrotu do genette’owskiej kategorii opowiadania (fr. récit). Od czasu publikacji powieści La Réticence (1991) powściągliwość stała się kluczową kategorią Toussaintowskiego pisarstwa. W jego utworach kształtuje formę, narrację i fabułę, ale także konstrukcję postaci, czasowość i przestrzeń. W ten sposób status omawianej kategorii w twórczości Toussainta umożliwia analizę poszczególnych, a zarazem charakterystycznych dla tego twórcy aspektów textes infinitésimalistes, które podejmują grę z modelem balzakowskiej powieści realistycznej.