French Literature Reviews - 2026
A. Kalantzis, Remy de Gourmont créateur de formes. Dépassement du genre littéraire et modernisme à l’aube du XXe siècle
Literary Theory, Linguistics and Stylistics
Alexia Kalantzis, Remy de Gourmont créateur de formes. Dépassement du genre littéraire et modernisme à l’aube du XXe siècle
Paris: Honoré Champion, "Romantisme et modernités" series, no. 130, 2012.
EAN 9782745321206.
784 p.
Price: 175 EUR
Publisher's Description:
Remy de Gourmont (1858-1915) exerted a significant influence on the aesthetic developments of the early 20th century. He played a key role in the crisis and renewal of literary genres through a systematic subversion of traditional rules and a quest for new, primarily poetic forms. Drawing on Symbolist theories, he developed an original aesthetic that would inspire numerous authors, including Gide and Cendrars in France, and D’Annunzio, Papini, and Soffici in Italy. The writing conditions of the era, marked by a proliferation of literary journals, had a profound impact on literary creation and the very concept of literature. Gourmont actively contributed to these journals, theorizing their function, and his work emerged from this distinctive literary practice.
Alexia Kalantzis holds an agrégation in modern literature and a PhD in French and comparative literature.
Remy de Gourmont occupied a central position in the French literary landscape at the turn of the twentieth century, bridging the gap between late nineteenth-century Symbolism and the emergence of high modernism. As a prominent essayist, novelist, and critic associated with the vibrant periodical culture of his era, he challenged rigid academic classifications and conventional forms of writing. His theoretical reflections on the autonomy of art and the plastic nature of language deeply influenced contemporaries across Europe, shaping avant-garde sensibilities in both France and Italy during a period of intense artistic experimentation.
This scholarly study offers valuable insight for researchers and students of modern comparative literature interested in the mechanics of literary evolution and genre transgression. By examining how periodical writing and avant-garde theories transformed the concept of authorship, the book illuminates the network of ideas that sustained the European modernist revolution. It serves as an essential resource for understanding the intellectual genealogy of early twentieth-century aesthetics and the enduring legacy of a remarkably versatile writer whose critical innovations redefined the boundaries of literature.