French Literature Reviews - 2026
C. Bohnert and F. Gevrey (eds.), L'Anthologie. Histoire et enjeux d'une forme éditoriale du Moyen Âge au XXIe s.
Literary Theory, Linguistics and Stylistics
Bibliographic reference: Céline Bohnert and Françoise Gevrey (eds.), L'Anthologie. Histoire et enjeux d'une forme éditoriale du Moyen Âge au XXIe siècle, Éditions et Presses universitaires de Reims (épure), 2014. EAN13: 9782915271928.
What reader today has never held an anthology in their hands? This volume—the fruit of a seminar conducted at the Centre de Recherche Interdisciplinaire sur les Modèles Esthétiques et Littéraires of the University of Reims (CRIMEL-EA 3311)—explores the multifaceted nature of the anthology. At the very heart of textual transmission, anthologies play a key role not only in dissemination, but also in shaping aesthetic, critical, generic, historical, and national models. Spanning a broad period from the Middle Ages to the 21st century, the contributions gathered here examine the reading practices at work within this form and outline the principles of what might be called an "anthological dynamic," given that the anthological gesture extends far beyond works that bear that explicit title. Beyond processes of preservation, distinction, legitimation, and hierarchization, the anthology possesses a creative dimension that also relies on the reader's active participation. This multiform editorial practice thus challenges our very definitions of literature and the ways in which knowledge is disseminated.
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
C. Bohnert & F. Gevrey
ASSEMBLING, COLLECTING
Maud Pérez-Simon, Le Roman d'Alexandre en vers put to the test of compilation
Carine Luccioni-Sauvage, The poetic anthology in the Baroque age based on prefatory texts of collective collections
Jean-Noël Pascal, Elements for a history of poetic anthologies in France (1750-1780)
Françoise Gevrey, "Collection" and anthology: from the Cabinet des fées to the Bibliothèque des génies et des fées
Nathalie Preiss, "Anthology": a word for ills
PRESERVING, RESHAPING
Lucie Claire, Artis historicae penus: preservation and questioning of models in J. Wolf's anthology
Céline Bohnert, Notes on Henri II Estienne and the corpus of idylls
Françoise Gevrey, The esprits: an anthological fashion in the Age of Enlightenment
Stéphane Zékian, Between public success and critical resistance: a note on classical anthologies in the 19th century
Karin Ueltschi, Anthologies of the Middle Ages: the romantic heritage
ESTABLISHING, CONSECRATING
Axelle Chassagnette, Map collections and atlases in the 16th and 17th centuries: compilation and organization of geographical knowledge within the space of the book
Suzanne Duval, From the marguerite to pièces agréables: choices of fine prose in the Baroque age
Jean-Michel Pottier, The flowers of the gutter, a possible anthology of naturalism
Elisa Grilli, Reviews and anthologies: editorial strategies in Anthologie-Revue de France et d’Italie (1897-1900), Poesia (1905-1909), and Renacimiento (1907)
Anne-Christine Royère, Iliazd, Poésie de mots inconnus: a bibliophilic "war machine" against Lettrism
EDITING AND TRANSLATING
Marie-Dominique Leclerc, The Bibliothèque bleue, an editorial form of anthology?
Alexis Lévrier, The anthology as reinterpretation: the French translation of The Spectator
Cécile Gauthier, The blossoming of "literary flowers of Russia" in 19th-century France, or the early age of foreign literature anthologies.
Delphine Amstutz & Bernard Teyssandier, Anthological remakes. Why do we collect lampoons?
Philippe Chométy, Towards a hanthology of classical scientific poetry
READING AND SELF-EXPRESSION
Alain Trouvé, Aragon / du Bouchet: 20th-century Hugo-esque anthologies
Anne-Élisabeth Halpern, Declarations of principle of the poetic anthology in/of the 20th and 21st centuries: selected excerpts of ideology
Annick Louis, The anthology, a deviant mode
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX NOMINUM
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
As an editorial and cultural practice, the collection and selection of texts has long served as a fundamental vehicle for textual transmission and the dissemination of aesthetic norms. Anthologies function not merely as passive repositories of existing literature, but as active sites that shape how literary history is perceived and categorized. By bringing together diverse materials under specific editorial principles, such compilations engage in complex processes of preservation and cultural framing.
Edited by Céline Bohnert and Françoise Gevrey, L'Anthologie. Histoire et enjeux d'une forme éditoriale du Moyen Âge au XXI e siècle gathers contributions that examine the multifaceted nature of the anthology from the medieval period to the contemporary era, highlighting its creative dimensions and its impact on reading practices. The volume explores how editorial strategies and thematic groupings challenge conventional definitions of literature and knowledge dissemination. Readers interested in the history of publishing and editorial forms may find this collection relevant to their inquiries.