French Literature Reviews - 2026
Writing and the Care of Language.
Literary Theory, Linguistics and Stylistics
Book received, awaiting a reviewer for the journal Acta Fabula.
Writing and the Care of Language
Writers, Linguists: Testimonies and Manuscript Traces
edited by Irène Fenoglio
Brussels, Academia Bruylant, 2007
Collection Au coeur des textes no. 7
ISBN: 978-2-87209-858-3
Price: €24.50
What can a writer say about what happens at the very moment of writing, particularly regarding their confrontation with language? What can they say about the "care of language"—an expression coined from an epigraph by Pascal Quignard, that staunch champion of the labor of writing? Without being thematic in scope, this volume gathers and, in a sense, capitalizes upon unique experiences of the creative process.
As presented, the book offers a threefold interest.
Writers are always reluctant to open their black box: all of them state as much here, yet all make the effort to crack the door open. The authors who speak to us are our contemporaries: their testimonies are living and "current"—a richness that we often struggle to observe in critical literature. In this book, they serve simultaneously as witnesses to themselves, to their creative activity, and to the critical perspective that genetic critics bring to their accounts. It is a risky enterprise that none of the participants shirked, even if it occasionally leaves the reader without answers.
Finally, this work presents facsimile editions of previously unpublished manuscripts. None of the authors featured in this volume had previously allowed their drafts to be seen in published form. Admittedly, these remain fragmentary, but they bear witness to the effort invested in reflection.
This collection should be of interest to literary scholars, linguists, and genetic critics, as well as to the readers of the contributing authors.
CONTENTS
I – Writing in Action: Language, Fiction, and the Conception of the Text.
Nancy HUSTON
The Uprooting of Knowledge
Bernard PINGAUD
Writing and Scribbling
II – Writing Explained: Language, Manuscripts, and Linguistics
Michel DEGUY
Thinking, Speaking, Writing: The Same
Michel ARRIVÉ
To the Letter
Jacqueline AUTHIER-REVUZ
Word-Stops
III – Writing Captured: Language and Computing
Jean-Pierre BALPE
Writing Without a Manuscript, the Missing Draft
Umberto ECO
How the Use of the Computer Complicates the Genesis of a Text
Conclusion: A Misplaced Question
Irène FENOGLIO
The study of the creative process, often referred to as genetic criticism, focuses on the genesis of literary works by examining drafts, notes, and the material conditions of writing. By analyzing the transition from initial thought to final text, researchers aim to understand the writer's confrontation with language and the evolution of their ideas. This volume gathers unique experiences of the creative process and documents the labor of writing through the personal accounts of contemporary authors.
The concept of the care of language, inspired by the work of Pascal Quignard, suggests a deliberate and attentive engagement with the material of expression. This collection includes reflective testimonies and facsimile reproductions of previously unpublished manuscripts. By juxtaposing these narratives with the perspectives of linguists and scholars, the book examines the intersection of fiction, linguistic practice, and the influence of technology on the drafting process. Readers interested in the intersection of literary creation and the study of manuscript archives may find these reflections on the act of writing relevant.