Description
Book SynopsisThis collection of essays presents new research on the work of Romanian writers who chose French as a literary language. Romanian is itself, of course, a Romance language, and there is a long history of close Franco-Romanian ties. But given the complex and often multilingual cultural heritage of these writers–whose influences included German, Russian, and Ottoman–their contribution to French literature represents a unique hybrid form of francophonie. And yet unlike the literary production of former French colonies, this work has received little scholarly attention as a contribution to French literature. This book aims to rectify this situation. Focusing on the historical, cultural, and artistic links between France and Romania in the twentieth century from the standpoint of such figures as Tristan Tzara, Anna de Noailles, Panaït Istrati, Eugène Ionesco, Isidore Isou, and E.M. Cioran, the essays develop innovative and insightful perspectives with regard to the work of individual authors. The volume as a whole will thus serve to reshape prevailing conceptions of Francophone literary production and to expand fundamentally the conceptual boundaries of Francophone Studies.
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction Monica Spiridon: “Bucharest-on-the-Seine”: The Anatomy of a National Obsession Ferdâ Asya: The Orientalism of Anna de Noailles Stephen Forcer: Before They Were Famous: Tristan Tzara, Nationhood, and Poetry Monique Yaari: The Surrealist Group of Bucharest: Collective Works, 1945–1947 Monique Jutrin: The Trans-cultural Journey of Benjamin Fondane Catherine Rossi: French as the Language of Libre Échange in the Works of Panaït Istrati Ingrid Chafee: Home Is Elsewhere: Exile in the Theatre of Ionesco Ashby Crowder: Traditionalism and Protochronism in the European Context Jean-Jacques Thomas: Isidore Isou’s Spirited Letters Anne Quinney: Emil Cioran and the Politics of Exile Notes on Contributors
