From Maoism to littérature-monde: Michel Le Bris and the Breton origins of world literature in French

Abstract

Since the publication of the 2007 manifesto ‘Pour une littérature-monde en français’, scholars have questioned whether or not the initially inflammatory concept of littérature-monde has produced a meaningful legacy. This article re-examines the controversies which the manifesto provoked by focusing on the intellectual career of one of its principal authors: Michel Le Bris. Scholarly criticism has largely overlooked the fact that Le Bris’s involvement in the littérature-monde project is an extension of his previous involvement with Maoism and his identity as a Breton author. The manifesto can be read as Le Bris’s response to the political and cultural crises of his time which he previously addressed through activism and cultural entrepreneurship. Though Le Bris’s own defence of the manifesto is flawed and problematic, a better understanding of the context from which it originated raises important questions when considering the role of regional and minority literatures in the global age.