Call for papers: Autobiographical Narratives in French and Francophone Children's Literature
The editorial board of Relief – Revue électronique de littérature française (revue-relief.org) – invites you to submit contributions for a special issue on the relationship between children’s literature and life writing. The issue will be edited by Régine Battiston and Arnaud Genon (Institut de recherche en langues et littératures, Université de Haute-Alsace).
Autobiography, as defined by Philippe Lejeune in the 1970s, has rarely been used in children’s literature. The pact of truth and transparency postulated by the genre seems difficult to reconcile with an audience of young readers. For these reasons, real-life confessions are relatively rare, although a few "canonical" texts come to mind, such as Jules Renard’s Poil de Carotte (1894), Marcel Pagnol's trilogy initiated by La Gloire de mon père (1957), Tomi Ungerer's À la guerre comme à la guerre (1991), Jean-Claude Moscovici's Voyage à Pitchipoï (1995), and, in non Francophone literature, The Diary of Anne Frank (1947), Roald Dahl's Boy: Tales of Childhood (1984), and Zlata Filipović’s Zlata's Diary (1991). Autobiographical devices in the broadest sense of the term (first-person narration, diaries, epistolary exchanges) have nonetheless been widely exploited by authors wishing to create the close, intimate bond between characters and readers that fictitious autobiographical writing makes possible. A case in point are the novels of formation, initiation or apprenticeship aimed at young readers, which, since the end of the 18th century, have recounted the fictional lives of young characters (Hector Malot's Sans famille, 1878) or the fictionalized life of the author (Azouz Begag's Le Gone du Chaâba, 1986).
Children's authors may resort to autobiographical disguise because the unvarnished truth cannot be told. Simulation and concealment, rewriting, transformation, the disguise of reality under metaphors, as well as its fabrication in autofictional practices, are means sometimes used to make stories credible, accessible or in line with the expectations of the target audience and the prescribers of this type of literature (parents, teachers, librarians, etc.).
In France, autobiographies for young readers have developed as a genre over the last 20 years, and entire collections are dedicated to it (see the "Confessions" collection created in the early 2000s by the publishing house De la Martinière). One reason why these stories are so successful is their ability to create a close bond with young readers who are looking for authentic, sincere voices that can speak to them and echo their own problems.
It will be interesting to study, in francophone literature and possibly in comparison with European practices, the way in which the "self" can be written in books intended for a young audience, how these texts manage to make the child's voice heard, and represent the universe of childhood through the adult who writes, whether it's a wounded or a happy childhood. The universe created sometimes shows the weight of customs, misunderstandings, family and social rules, the wounds and damage caused by adult behaviour, the suffering of children and their possible resilience. In addition, we need to consider the whole range of children's literature that uses the enunciative or generic devices specific to the autobiographical genre in the service of a literature that is nonetheless totally fictional, in which the imaginary or imagined world transcends reality, and enables young readers to identify with the story of the characters portrayed (Bertrand Santini's Journal de Gurty series, or Jeff Kinney's Journal d'un dégonflé series). In this sense, these narratives enable readers to construct their own identity through that of the character, and more generally through the stories they are reading. They also shed light on discourses and representations of childhood over time. This analytical work will be all the more appreciated as interest in these questions is often limited to a few pages in theoretical writings devoted to children's literature (Daniel Delbrassine, Le roman pour adolescent aujourd'hui : écriture, thématiques et réception, SCÉRÉN-CRDP de l'académie de Créteil, 2006, Christian Chelebourg, Francis Marcoin, La littérature de jeunesse, Armand Colin, 2007, Nathalie Prince, La littérature de jeunesse, Armand Colin, 2021) – when it's not completely ignored.
Contributions may focus on autobiographical and autofictional projects, on the narrative devices used (perspective and point of view, the problem of chosen spaces and temporalities...), on the way to talk about oneself by constructing one's discourse, on impediments to confession, on what distinguishes words and intentions. We'll also look at the voices/ways writers choose to make themselves heard by young readers. Proposals may also focus on the effects produced, on reception and on the target audience (young children or teenagers), in relation to the choice of material and its implementation. The relationship with the reader in autobiographical children's literature could also be the subject of analysis: does an author writing for a young reader adopt the same writing methods as when writing for an adult? This question links up with that of editorial strategies: which ones facilitate access to these confessions? In direct relation to these questions, we might also ask why the corpus of overtly autobiographical literature is limited when aimed at young readers, when on the contrary, since the late 70s, it has been booming in the field of so-called general literature. Are young readers losing interest in the experiences of their elders?
Once these theoretical aspects have been considered, it would be interesting to open up a more specifically didactic section, which would examine, for example, the ways in which autobiographical literature (or literature presenting itself as such) is being taught to young readers. What is at stake in the teaching of these "life" writings? Are there any particular approaches to the reception of autobiographical and autofictional texts fin classroom practices? Can these texts be used as a tool for encouraging students to write? Proposals for articles along these lines would complement and renew work already carried out in 2001 (L'autobiographie en classe, edited by Marie-Hélène Roques, Delagrave/CRDP Midi-Pyrénées, 2001) and in the journal Repères in 2006 ("L'écriture de soi et l'école", edited by Marie-France Bishop and Marie-Claude Penloup, Repères, recherches en didactique du français langue maternelle, n°34, 2006).
Contributions, in French or in English, will preferably focus on a French-language corpus. Links or comparisons with foreign works might help to highlight any convergences or possible particularities.
Deadline for submissions: July 1, 2024.
Authors of selected proposals must submit the complete article (6,000 to 8,000 words) in accordance with Relief's style sheet by December 1, 2024. In accordance with the journal's protocol, contributions will undergo double-blind review for publication in Relief in September 2025. Please send a proposal of around 300 words, together with a brief biobibliographical note, to revuerelief@gmail.com and to ecrituredesoi2024.ille@uha.fr.
About the journal
Relief - Revue électronique de littérature française is an international peer-reviewed scientific journal devoted to literary and cultural studies. Its historical scope is open, as long as it is related to French-language corpora. Relief is a meeting place for the study of literatures, texts and discourses. Bilingual (French-English) and pioneering, Relief has been an open-access digital journal since its first issue in 2007. Relief is published twice a year. Issues are organized by theme or by monograph, but each issue reserves space for diverse contributions and book reviews. Website: www.revue-relief.org.
Theoretical bibliography on autobiographical genres
Allamand Carole, Le « Pacte » de Philippe Lejeune ou l’autobiographie en théorie, édition critique et commentaire, Honoré Champion, 2018.
Burgelin, Claude, Grell, Isabelle, avec la collaboration de Roger-Yves Roch, Autofiction(s), actes du colloque de Cerisy-la-Salle, Lyon, PUL, 2010.
Colonna, Vincent, Autofiction & autres mythomanies littéraires, Auch, Tristram, 2004.
Forest, Philippe, Le Roman, le je, Nantes, Éditions Pleins Feux, 2001.
Forest, Philippe, Les Romans du Je (avec Claude Gaugain), « Horizons comparatistes », Pleins Feux/ Université de Nantes, Nantes, 2001.
Gasparini, Philippe, Autofiction – Une aventure du langage, Paris, Seuil, Poétique, 2008.
Gasparini, Philippe, Est-il je ? Roman autobiographique et autofiction, Paris, Seuil, Poétique, 2004.
Genon, Arnaud, Autofiction : pratiques et théories (Articles), Mon Petit Editeur, coll. Essai, 2013.
Lecarme, Jacques ; Lecarme-tabone, Éliane, L’Autobiographie, Paris, Armand Colin, 1997.
Lejeune, Philippe, Le Pacte autobiographique, Paris, Seuil, 1975.
Lejeune, Philippe, L’Autobiographie en France, Paris, Armand Colin, 1971.
Bibliography children’s literature
Chelebourg, Christian et Marcoin, Francis, La Littérature de jeunesse, Paris, Armand Colin, 2007.
Diament, Nic, Histoire des livres pour les enfants : du Petit Chaperon rouge à Harry Potter, Montrouge, Bayard éditions, 2008.
Escarpit, Denise, La littérature de jeunesse, itinéraires d’hier à aujourd’hui, Paris, Magnard, 2008.
Lévêque, Mathilde, Écrire pour la jeunesse en France et en Allemagne dans l’entre-deux-guerres, Rennes, Presses Universitaires de Rennes, 2011.
Lévêque, Mathilde, Histoire de la littérature allemande pour la jeunesse, Vincennes, Editions Thierry Marchaisse, 2017.
Mas, Marion et Mercier-Faivre, Anne-Marie (Dir.), Écrire pour la jeunesse et pour les adultes. D’un lectorat à l’autre, Classiques Garnier, Collection Rencontres, n° 459, 2020.
Nières-Chevrel, Isabelle, Introduction à la littérature de jeunesse, Paris, Didier, 2009.
Nières-Chevrel, Isabelle, et Perrot, Jean, Dictionnaire du livre de jeunesse, Paris, Editions du cercle de la librairie, 2013.
Nières-Chevrel, Isabelle, Littérature de jeunesse : incertaines frontières, Actes du colloque de Cerisy la Salle (5-11 juin 2004), Paris, Gallimard jeunesse, 2005.
Pham Dinh, Rose-May et Douglas, Virginie (Dir.), Histoires de famille et littérature de jeunesse / Family Stories and Children’s Literature. Filiation, transmission, réinvention ? / Parentage, Transmission or Reinvention?, Peter Lang, collection “Recherches comparatives sur les livres et le multimédia d’enfance”.
Poslaniec, Christian, Des Livres d’enfants à la littérature de jeunesse, Paris, Découvertes Gallimard, Bibliothèque nationale de France Littératures, 2008.
Prince, Nathalie, Thiltges, Sébastian, co-graphies : écologie et littératures pour la jeunesse, Presses Universitaires de Rennes, PUR, coll. “Interférences”, 2018.
Prince, Nathalie, La Littérature de jeunesse, Paris, Armand Colin, 2021 (3e édition).
Prince, Nathalie (Dir.), La littérature de jeunesse en question(s), Rennes, Presses Universitaires de Rennes, 2009.
Schneider, Anne et Jeannin, Magali (Dir.), Littératures de l’altérité, altérités de la littérature, collection Dyptique, Université de Namur, 2020.
Soriano, Marc, Guide de la littérature pour la jeunesse : courants, problèmes, choix d’auteurs, Paris, Flammarion, 1975 (Delagrave, 2002).
Children’s literature and didactics
Ahr, Sylviane et Mongenot, Christine (Dir..), (D)Écrire, prescrire, interdire : les professionnels face à la littérature de jeunesse aujourd’hui, 2016.
Bishop, Marie-France et Penloup, Marie-Claude (Dir.), Repères, recherches en didactique du français langue maternelle, n°34, 2006.
Dulibine, Chantal, Grosjean, Bernard, Coups de théâtre en classe entière, CRDP de Créteil, 2004.
Hamaide-Jager, Eléonore, « La mise en abyme de la lecture ou comment l’album peut former son lecteur ? », in Christiane Connan-Pintado, Florence Gaiotti et Bernadette Poulou (éd.), L’album contemporain pour la jeunesse : nouvelles formes, nouveaux lecteurs ?, Actes du colloque de Bordeaux des 28, 29 et 30 novembre 2007, Presses Universitaires de Bordeaux, Modernités, n° 28, novembre 2008, p. 225-235.
Houvel, Christine et Poslaniec Christian, Activités de lecture à partir de la littérature de jeunesse, Paris, Hachette éducation, 2000.
Langbour, Nadège, Littérature de jeunesse : la construction du lecteur, L’Harmattan, 2020.
Massol, Jean-François, et Quet, François (Dir.), L’auteur pour la jeunesse, de l’édition à l’école, Grenoble, ELLUG, 2011.
Poslaniec, Christian, Pratique de la littérature de jeunesse à l’école, Paris, Hachette, 2002.
Roques, Marie-Hélène (Dir.), L’autobiographie en classe, Delagrave/CRDP Midi-Pyrénées, 2001.
