French Literature Reviews - 2026

A. A. L Bindi, Formulaire - Poétique du droit
Poetry and Poetics

A. A. L. Bindi, Formulaire - Poétique du droit

Paris: L'Harmattan, 2012.

120 p.

EAN 9782296129887

12.50 EUR

Publisher's Description:

Law is poetic. This is obvious from the very first writings, just as it is when listening to repetitive, endless pleadings. It is a poetry that, in this case, encompasses civil procedural law. Sometimes these are minuscule fragments, allowing for writing through sudden projections into other parts of the collection. Ultimately, one finds oneself in a series of texts, as if by multiplication, when considering that a single statement decomposes and reforms, waiting for a proper presentation, as if suspended in mid-air.

A. A. L. Bindi is a lawyer, but also a writer, and the author, among other works, of Sylvie ou comment S. écrire (L'Harmattan, 2010).

Following his previous work, Sylvie ou comment S. écrire, A. A. L. Bindi continues to explore the boundaries of writing. Here, he focuses on the intersection of law and literature, a rich intellectual tradition that examines how legal procedures rely on narrative and formal structures. By treating civil procedural law—often considered a dry branch of legal practice—as a source of poetic inspiration, Bindi highlights the aesthetic qualities of legal forms. The text operates at the boundary of creative writing, showing how the repetitive, highly structured language of legal pleadings functions similarly to constrained poetic forms.

This volume raises intriguing questions about the boundaries of literary expression and the hidden creativity within institutional language. How do rigid formulas shape our understanding of truth and representation? Readers interested in creative writing, stylistics, and the philosophy of law will find this an insightful study. It is particularly useful for scholars of the Law and Literature movement, as well as those intrigued by avant-garde poetic techniques that repurpose non-literary, administrative jargon into fragmented, evocative texts.