Jean-Pierre Richard (15 July 1922 – 15 March 2019) was a French writer and literary critic.

Biography

Jean-Pierre Richard began his advanced studies at the

École normale supérieure École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, S ...

, at the time a school of the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

, in 1941, passed the " agrégation" in literature in 1945, and got his doctoral degree (

doctorat ès lettres Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...

) in 1962 at the

. He taught literature first in foreign universities, and then in France, and finally became a professor at the

IV in 1978. Since the publication of ''Littérature et Sensation'' in 1954, which brought him critical attention, Jean-Pierre Richard has continually sought to explore – in the works of writers of the nineteenth and twentieth century – the links between their writings and their intimate experience of the world. In his first book, which studied Stendhal,

Flaubert Gustave Flaubert ( , , ; 12 December 1821 – 8 May 1880) was a French novelist. Highly influential, he has been considered the leading exponent of literary realism in his country. According to the literary theorist Kornelije Kvas, "in Flauber ...

, Fromentin and the Goncourt brothers, he analyzed these authors' perceptions and sensations of material world. In ''Poésie et Profondeur'', he refined his critical method by searching for the "first moment of literary creation", that instant during which a literary project constructs both the writer and his or her work. Published in 1962, Richard's "Univers imaginaire de Mallarmé" remains one of the most important studies of that poet. He worked closely with Georges Poulet and is sometimes grouped with the so-called "

Geneva School The expression Geneva School refers to (1) a group of linguists based in Geneva who pioneered modern structural linguistics and (2) a group of literary theorists and critics working from a phenomenological perspective. Geneva School of Linguisti ...

" including writers such as Georges Poulet, Albert Béguin,

Jean Starobinski Jean Starobinski (17 November 1920 – 4 March 2019) was a Swiss literary critic. Biography Starobinski was born in Geneva in 1920, the son of Jewish physicians Aron Starobinski of Warsaw and Sulka Frydman of Lublin. Both his parents left ...

and

Jean Rousset Jean Rousset (20 February 1910 – 15 September 2002) was a Swiss literary critic who worked on French literature, and in particular on Baroque literature of the late Renaissance and early seventeenth century. He is sometimes grouped with the ' ...

Main works

* ''Chemins de Michon Paris'' (Verdier poche, 2008) * ''Roland Barthes, dernier paysage'' (Verdier, 2006) on

Roland Barthes Roland Gérard Barthes (; ; 12 November 1915 – 26 March 1980) was a French literary theorist, essayist, philosopher, critic, and semiotician. His work engaged in the analysis of a variety of sign systems, mainly derived from Western popula ...

* ''Quatre lectures'' (Fayard, 2002) * ''Proust et le monde sensible'' (Seuil, 1974) on Marcel Proust * ''Onze études sur la poésie moderne'' (Seuil, 1964) on Pierre Reverdy,

Saint-John Perse Alexis Leger (; 31 May 1887 – 20 September 1975), better known by his pseudonym Saint-John Perse (; also Saint-Leger Leger), was a French poet-diplomat, awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1960 "for the soaring flight and evocative ...

, René Char,

Paul Éluard Paul Éluard (), born Eugène Émile Paul Grindel (; 14 December 1895 – 18 November 1952), was a French poet and one of the founders of the Surrealist movement. In 1916, he chose the name Paul Éluard, a matronymic borrowed from his maternal ...

Georges Schehadé Georges may refer to: Places * Georges River, New South Wales, Australia * Georges Quay (Dublin) *Georges Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania Other uses *Georges (name) * ''Georges'' (novel), a novel by Alexandre Dumas * "Georges" (song), a 19 ...

, Francis Ponge, Eugène Guillevic,

Yves Bonnefoy Yves Jean Bonnefoy (24 June 1923, Tours – 1 July 2016 Paris) was a French poet and art historian. He also published a number of translations, most notably the plays of William Shakespeare which are considered among the best in French. He was pr ...

, André du Bouchet,

Philippe Jaccottet Philippe Jaccottet (; 30 June 1925 – 24 February 2021) was a Swiss Francophone poet and translator. Life and work After completing his studies in Lausanne, he lived for several years in Paris. In 1953, he moved to the town of Grignan in ...

, and Jacques Dupin. * ''L'Univers imaginaire de Mallarmé'' (Seuil, 1962). * ''Poésie et profondeur'' (Seuil, 1955) on

Arthur Rimbaud Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (, ; 20 October 1854 – 10 November 1891) was a French poet known for his transgressive and surreal themes and for his influence on modern literature and arts, prefiguring surrealism. Born in Charleville, he start ...

, Baudelaire,

Gérard de Nerval Gérard de Nerval (; 22 May 1808 – 26 January 1855) was the pen name of the French writer, poet, and translator Gérard Labrunie, a major figure of French romanticism, best known for his novellas and poems, especially the collection '' Les ...

and

Paul Verlaine Paul-Marie Verlaine (; ; 30 March 1844 – 8 January 1896) was a French poet associated with the Symbolist movement and the Decadent movement. He is considered one of the greatest representatives of the '' fin de siècle'' in international and ...

. * ''Littérature et Sensation'' (Seuil, 1954) on Stendhal,

, Fromentin and the Goncourt brothers.

Biography

Main works

See also