Francophone literature
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Francophone literature is
literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...
written in the
French language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Nor ...
. The existence of a plurality of literatures in the French language has been recognised, although the autonomy of these literatures is less defined than the plurality of literatures written in the English language. Writings in the French language from Belgium, Canada and Switzerland were recognised as belonging to distinct traditions long before writings from colonial territories of France. Writing in French by Africans was formerly classified as "colonial literature" and discussed as part of colonial studies for its ethnographical interest, rather than studied for its literary merit. Any texts in French from the colonies and territories that were considered to have merit were subsumed under the classification of
French literature French literature () generally speaking, is literature written in the French language, particularly by citizens of France; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of France other than Fr ...
. The nature and importance of Francophone literature in various territories of the former French Empire depends on the concentration of French settlers, the length of time spent in colonial status, and how developed indigenous languages were as
literary language A literary language is the form (register) of a language used in written literature, which can be either a nonstandard dialect or a standardized variety of the language. Literary language sometimes is noticeably different from the spoken langu ...
s. It was only following the Second World War that a distinction started to be made in literary studies and anthologies between French literature and other writing in French. In 1960 Maurice Bémol published ''Essai sur l'orientation des littératures de langue française au XXe siècle''; the plural in the title emphasised the study's new approach of examining the level of autonomy of the languages. Paris remains the most powerful centre of Francophone publishing, although important publishers have developed elsewhere, notably in Quebec where influential publishing houses have long attracted Francophone writers from across the world. The term has historically been used to refer only to literature from
Francophone French became an international language in the Middle Ages, when the power of the Kingdom of France made it the second international language, alongside Latin. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the l ...
countries outside France, but modern usage includes any literature written in French. Francophone literature therefore applies to the whole French-speaking world in the broadest sense of the term.


By Country

Francophone literature may refer to aspects of: *Literature of French-speaking European countries **
Literature of France French literature () generally speaking, is literature written in the French language, particularly by citizens of France; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of France other than F ...
** Literature of Belgium ** Literature of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg ** Literature of Switzerland * Literature of Canada ** List of French Canadian writers from outside Quebec **
Literature of Quebec This is an article about literature in Quebec. 16th and 17th centuries During this period, the society of New France was being built with great difficulty. The French merchants contracted to transport colonists did not respect their end of t ...
***
List of Quebec authors This is a list of authors from the Canadian province of Quebec. A *José Acquelin *Donald Alarie *Francine Allard *Ginette Anfousse *François Réal Angers *Emmanuel Aquin *Hubert Aquin *Nelly Arcan *Gilles Archambault *Olivar Asselin *Bernard ...
*
Literature of Louisiana The literature of Louisiana, United States, includes fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. Representative authors include Kate Chopin, Alcée Fortier, Ernest Gaines, Walker Percy, Anne Rice and John Kennedy Toole. History A printing press began op ...
*Literature of the
French Caribbean The French West Indies or French Antilles (french: Antilles françaises, ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Antiy fwansez) are the parts of France located in the Antilles islands of the Caribbean: * The two overseas departments of: ** Guadeloupe, ...
countries and dependencies ** Literature of Guadeloupe ** Literature of Haiti ** Literature of Martinique *Literature of
Francophone Africa African French (french: français africain) is the generic name of the varieties of the French language spoken by an estimated 141 million people in Africa in 2018, spread across 34 countries and territories.29 full members of the Organisa ...
**
Literature of Algeria Algerian literature has been influenced by many cultures, including the ancient Romans, Arabs, French, Spanish, and Berbers. The dominant languages in Algerian literature are French and Arabic. A few of the more notable Algerian writers are: Kate ...
**
Literature of Benin Benin is a former French colony in western Africa. French is the official language, and is usually used in literature, along with indigenous languages. Folk stories and feminist works hold high significance in Benin literature. Oba of Benin Th ...
**
Literature of Burkina Faso Burkinabé literature grew out of oral tradition, which remains important. In 1934, during French occupation, Dim-Dolobsom Ouedraogo published his ''Maximes, pensées et devinettes mossi'' (''Maxims, Thoughts and Riddles of the Mossi''), a record ...
**
Literature of Burundi Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...
**
Literature of Cameroun Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...
**
Literature of the Central African Republic Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...
**
Literature of Chad Chadian literature has suffered greatly from the turmoil which has engulfed the country, economical and political. As with many cultures, literature in Chad began with folk tales and legends. While French is the dominant language, Arabic is also ...
**
Literature of the Comoros Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...
** Literature of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ** Literature of the Republic of the Congo ** Literature of Côte d'Ivoire ** Literature of Djibouti ** Literature of Gabon ** Literature of Guinea ** Literature of Madagascar ** Literature of Mali ** Literature of Mauritania ** Literature of Mauritius ** Literature of Morocco ** Literature of Niger ** Literature of Rwanda ** Literature of Réunion ** Literature of Senegal ** Literature of the Seychelles ** Literature of Togo ** Literature of Tunisia **
Postcolonial literature Postcolonial literature is the literature by people from formerly colonized countries. It exists on all continents except Antarctica. Postcolonial literature often addresses the problems and consequences of the decolonization of a country, especia ...
**
List of African writers (by country) This is a list of prominent and notable writers from Africa. It includes poets, novelists, children's writers, essayists, and scholars, listed by country. Algeria ''See: List of Algerian writers'' Angola ''See: List of Angolan writers'' Benin ...
*Francophone literature of countries in Asia ** Literature of Lebanon (see: '' Écrivains libanais francophones'') **
Literature of Cambodia Cambodian literature ( km, អក្សរសាស្ត្រខ្មែរ, ), also Khmer literature, has a very ancient origin. Like most Southeast Asian national literatures its traditional corpus has two distinct aspects or levels: *The ...
**
Literature of Laos The people of Laos have a rich literary tradition dating back at least six hundred years, with the oral and storytelling traditions of its peoples dating back much earlier. Lao literature refers to the written productions of Laotian peoples, its ém ...
** Literature of Vietnam


Francophone writers

* List of French language poets *
List of French language authors Chronological list of French language authors (regardless of nationality), by date of birth. For an alphabetical list of writers of French nationality (broken down by genre), see French writers category. Middle Ages * Turold (eleventh century ...
*
Georges Simenon Georges Joseph Christian Simenon (; 13 February 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a Belgian writer. He published nearly 500 novels and numerous short works, and was the creator of the fictional detective Jules Maigret. Early life and education ...
(Belgium) *
Maurice Maeterlinck Maurice Polydore Marie Bernard Maeterlinck (29 August 1862 – 6 May 1949), also known as Count (or Comte) Maeterlinck from 1932, was a Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist who was Flemish but wrote in French. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in ...
(Belgium) *
Jacques Roumain Jacques Roumain (June 4, 1907 – August 18, 1944) was a Haitian writer, politician, and advocate of Marxism. He is considered one of the most prominent figures in Haitian literature. The African-American poet, Langston Hughes, translated some of ...
(Haiti) *
Léopold Sédar Senghor Léopold Sédar Senghor (; ; 9 October 1906 – 20 December 2001) was a Senegalese poet, politician and cultural theorist who was the first president of Senegal (1960–80). Ideologically an African socialist, he was the major theoretician o ...
(Senegal) *
Blaise Cendrars Frédéric-Louis Sauser (1 September 1887 – 21 January 1961), better known as Blaise Cendrars, was a Swiss-born novelist and poet who became a naturalized French citizen in 1916. He was a writer of considerable influence in the European mod ...
(Switzerland) *
Émile Nelligan Émile Nelligan (December 24, 1879 – November 18, 1941) was a Canadian Symbolist poet from Montreal who wrote in French. Even though he stopped writing poetry after being institutionalized at the age of 19, Nelligan remains an iconic figure ...
(Canada)


See also

*
Francophonie Francophonie is the quality of speaking French. The term designates the ensemble of people, organisations and governments that share the use of French on a daily basis and as administrative language, teaching language or chosen language. The ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Francophone Literature French-language literature French-language culture