Literature of Réunion is the literature of persons linked to the island of
Réunion
Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...
, a French
overseas department
The overseas departments and regions of France (, ; DROM) are the five departments and regions of the French Republic which are located outside European France (also known as " metropolitan France"). These overseas entities have exactly the s ...
in the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...
east of
Madagascar
Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
. It is written in
French
French may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France
** French people, a nation and ethnic group
** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices
Arts and media
* The French (band), ...
and in
Réunionnais creole as well as other languages.
History
The origins of Réunionnais literature are in Réunionnais short stories and poetry, which flourished beginning in the mid-18th century.
Évariste de Parny
Évariste Desiré de Forges, vicomte de Parny (6 February 17535 December 1814) was a French Rococo poet.
Biography
De Parny was born in Saint-Paul on the Isle of Bourbon (now Réunion); he came from an aristocratic family from the region of ...
and
Antoine Bertin were writers born in the island in the 18th century, but who spent most of their lives away from their birthplace. For them Réunion was a subject that represented beauty and youthful memories. This theme of exoticism was one that predominated in literature written by French-language writers from Réunion writing for a readership in France.
Réunion was recounted as a lost paradise inhabited by happy natives, as in the 1924 novel ''Ulysse, Cafre ou L'Histoire dorée d'un Noir'' by
Prix Goncourt
The Prix Goncourt ( , "The Goncourt Prize") is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year". The prize carries a symbolic reward of only 10 euros, but resul ...
winning Réunionnais authors Marius-Ary Leblond.
In the 19th century, the novel became more important; ''
Les Marrons'' by
Louis Timagène Houat was a major work. In French poetry,
Leconte de Lisle
Charles Marie René Leconte de Lisle (; 22 October 1818 – 17 July 1894) was a French poet of the Parnassian movement. He is traditionally known by his surname only, Leconte de Lisle.
Biography
Leconte de Lisle was born on the French overseas i ...
and
Léon Dierx
Léon Dierx (; March 31, 1838 – June 11, 1912) was a French poet born in Saint-Denis in 1838. He came to Paris to study at the Central School of Arts and Manufactures and subsequently settled there, taking up a post in the education office. He ...
were leading
Parnassians.
A movement away from representing Réunion as a picturesque and
Romantic generalised tropical paradise for the entertainment of foreign readers and towards a literature with a distinct cultural identity can be seen in the poetry of
Pierre-Claude Georges-François (1869 - 1933), which moves away from classical forms of French poetry. His 1931 collection ''Poèmes d'Outre-Mer'' contained the first
free verse
Free verse is an open form of poetry which does not use a prescribed or regular meter or rhyme and tends to follow the rhythm of natural or irregular speech. Free verse encompasses a large range of poetic form, and the distinction between free ...
in Réunionnais literature, daringly mixed with classical
alexandrine
Alexandrine is a name used for several distinct types of verse line with related metrical structures, most of which are ultimately derived from the classical French alexandrine. The line's name derives from its use in the Medieval French '' Ro ...
s.
Jean Albany's 1951 ''Zamal'' turns the tables on the colonial literary tradition by representing France as the "other", and introduces Creole. Slavery and the specifics of Réunionnais history, geography, fauna and flora are explored.
Boris Gamaley's ''Vali pour une reine morte'' (1973) is written in a variety of languages: French, Creole,
Malagasy and other African and Indian languages to represent the linguistic and cultural influences of the island, using the languages of indigenous people, colonisers, slaves and indentured labourers.
Réunionnais literature has experienced a revival since Réunion became a departement.
Créolie is a movement in Réunionnais literature.
Major authors
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reunionnais literature
French literature