French Literature Reviews - 2026
Émilien Sermier, Diamétralement modernes. Poètes francophones d'Amérique latine
Poetry and Poetics
"Latin America has produced great French-language poets," wrote Aragon in 1936. This book aims to remind us of that fact: tracing a history that extends from Lautréamont and Laforgue to contemporary poets, it revisits in particular the avant-garde movements of the first half of the XXe century. From a literary history perspective, it brings back to the forefront the trajectories of Jules Supervielle and Robert Ganzo, as well as those of translingual poets such as the Ecuadorian Alfredo Gangotena, the Chilean Vicente Huidobro, the Peruvian surrealist César Moro, the Argentinian Gloria Alcorta, and the Brazilian modernist Sérgio Milliet. These are writers who, temporarily or permanently, chose French as a language of poetic experimentation—driven by cultural, emotional, political, and aesthetic motivations alike.
Long marginalized by literary criticism in France, all these poets made highly original contributions to the great adventures of modern poetry. Residing in the cosmopolitan Paris of the Roaring Twenties, they were recognized by the leading writers of their time—including Artaud, Breton, Cendrars, Jacob, Larbaud, Michaux, Perse, and Reverdy. These diverse journeys allow us to re-explore poetic modernity on a transatlantic scale, and above all, to measure the profound impact these singular works had upon the French-language poem.
Read an excerpt and browse the table of contents on the publisher's website…
A lecturer at the University of Lausanne, Émilien Sermier specializes in literary avant-gardes. The author of numerous articles, he published an essay in 2022 with Éditions José Corti entitled Une Saison dans le roman. Explorations modernistes : d’Apollinaire à Supervielle (recipient of the 2022 Critics' Prize from the Institut National Genevois). He is a member of the steering committees for the journal Histoires Littéraires and the Centre d’Études Blaise Cendrars.
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The study of French-language poetry written by Latin American authors highlights a significant intersection of cultural and linguistic identities. Throughout the twentieth century, many writers from the region engaged with the French language as a medium for aesthetic experimentation, often during periods of residence in Paris. This phenomenon reflects patterns of intellectual migration where writers navigated between their native traditions and the currents of European modernism. By focusing on figures who adopted French, the work situates these poets within the transnational networks that defined the literary avant-gardes of the early twentieth century.
The poetic movements of the early twentieth century were characterized by a desire to break with traditional forms, a goal shared by many writers who gravitated toward the cosmopolitan environment of Paris. These poets often participated in the same circles as established French figures, contributing to a cross-pollination of styles and themes. By revisiting the trajectories of authors like Jules Supervielle, Vicente Huidobro, and César Moro, the text examines how these diverse voices influenced the evolution of modern poetry. Readers interested in the history of transatlantic literary exchanges may find this examination of multilingual poetic practice particularly relevant.
In Télérama (June 11, 2025), Youness Bounessa devoted a review to this essay: "Diamétralement modernes: A passionate tribute to the French-speaking poets of Latin America"
An article on this work can also be read on laviedesidees.fr: "Poets, Your Papers", by Thibault Plantet…
See also Daniel Lefort's review on the blog La République des livres (July 22, 2025): "Poetic and Transatlantic Voices of Latin America"