« La littérature seule ne peut pas grand-chose », ou comment penser une littérature politique (avec Nathalie Quintane)

Abstract

The question of conceiving literature as a political statement is at the heart of Nathalie Quintane’s work. Her approach currently revolves around a pragmatic and pragmatist conception of the work of art as an experience, that is, thinking of literature in terms of use and effect. Th is paper considers how Quintane’s approach results in what can be qualified as a “contextual” understanding of literature, which imagines the ramifications of the text in real life. Discussed here is how Quintane takes a stand against the dominant idea of a literary work as an autonomous and closed object, underlining how such a secessionist vision deprives literature of its possibilities of action.