Flemish letters from Belgium
From plays written in Dutch to the version of Renart's novel, Van Den Vos Reynaerde, literature in the Belgian Netherlands flourished until the end of the 16th century. Thereafter, a minor production languished for two centuries, only to disappear during the French domination. The revival of Flemish literature was initiated by the Antwerp writer Hendrik Conscience (1812-1883), soon followed by a number of writers, mostly of rural inspiration, nostalgic for the Flanders of yesteryear. Cyriel Buysse (1859-1932) was the first author to be recognised in Holland, thanks to a language that was free of the slag of the Belgian-Dutch language, full of gallicisms. Among the modern Flemish authors, the most famous is certainly Hugo Claus (1929-2008), whose reputation went far beyond the borders of Belgium.
French letters from Belgium
In the Middle Ages, the great works of Romanesque literature merged with what was to become French production. In the era of the langue d'oïl, works from the North were distinguished from the others by a few specific dialectal features, in the same way as compositions from Champagne or Normandy. But it was not until the 19th century that French-language Belgian literature appeared. After Belgium's independence in 1830, various circles and characters wanted the young kingdom to acquire a national literature without delay. It was requested that the works should take as their theme some aspects of Belgium or its history, and a national consciousness that sought to welcome with an often unjustified benevolence the stories or verses with a patriotic allure. The French letters of Belgium are, in their early years, full of emphasis. It was Charles de Coster (1827-1879) - in fact, a Fleming writing in French - who marked the break with earlier ethereal prose, anchoring his heroes and their adventures in the regional reality(The Legend of Ulenspiegel, 1858) to express the universality of the ideas of freedom and revolt.
Naturalism and symbolism
In 1881, Edmond Picard, a Brussels lawyer, created L'Art moderne, a weekly journal of artistic, musical and literary criticism. A socialist activist, Picard wanted a "national" literature committed to the political and social struggle. The same year, the magazine La Jeune Belgique, created by Albert Bauwens and Max Waller in 1881, appeared. These two publications marked the entry on the scene of a genuine generation of writers, nourished by the land and caught up in the modernity at work in their country. They were born in Ghent, Antwerp or Bruges, but all wrote in French. Most of them are of well-to-do origin, but they reject the cautiously traditional values of their cultural milieu. The leading figures are Georges Rodenbach(Bruges la Morte, 1892), Émile Verhaeren(Campagnes hallucinées, 1893, Villages illusions, 1894, Villes tentaculaires, 1895). Maurice Maeterlinck (1862-1949) reinvented the French language in a Symbolist work, which won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1911. To this day, he remains the only Belgian to have won the prize in this category.
The beginning of the 20th century
At the beginning of the 20th century, the great names that emerged reflected the industrial turn, its rationality and the very lively nostalgia for the lost regionalist landscapes. Such is the case with Camille Lemonnier's lyrical description of the force at work. In 1881, he published Un mâle, histoire des amours libres between the poacher Cachaprès and a young farmer named Germaine. The scandal he unleashed shook the customary indolence of the Belgian public in matters of literature, while in Paris the book, published in 1881, aroused the interest of Alphonse Daudet and Joris-Karl Huysmans... At the same time, we can also mention Georges Eekhoud (1854-1927), the naturalist poet from the Antwerp Kempen whose prose burns with picaresque heat.
The avant-garde between the wars
All these writers contribute to spreading the taste for art and literature in Belgium, shaking up conformisms and habits, and attracting foreign attention to the country. The terrible upheaval of the First World War also affected the literary world, which burst into shock. Political commitments and membership of avant-garde movements took precedence over Belgian membership. As an official counterpoint, the Académie de langue et de littérature française de Belgique was created in 1921. When the war was over, Antwerp developed an intense intellectual activity which was reflected in 1920 by the birth of the journals Lumière (Roger Avermaete) and especially Ça ira (under the impetus of Paul Neuhuys). Under this title, a somewhat disparate avant-garde was active, united more by what it rejected than by what it pursued. Some authors transform the vagaries of their lives into original and singular literary matter. André Baillon, defeated in Paris by grief, madness and illness (Zonzon Pépette, 1923), Clément Pansaers, the Dadaist revolutionary settles his scores with Belgian patriotism (Bar Nicanor, 1921).
Surrealism
It is in the surrealist movement that the rejection of traditional culture and aesthetics will, as in France, manifest itself in the most "organized" way. The French movement launched by André Breton is gaining ground in Belgium. It brings to the artistic and literary scene a theoretical coherence, a "logic" that other innovative, more anarchic trends do not have or do not want. In the 1920s, Paul Nougé, co-founder of the Belgian Communist Party, came into contact with Breton. Around Nougé would gather a series of subversive creators: René Magritte, Camille Goemans, Marcel Lecomte, Louis Scutenaire, Paul Colinet, and later Marcel Mariën. This group, known as "de Bruxelles", developed through leaflets and magazines. Let us also note the current of proletarian literature in which Constant Malva made himself the singer of the mine (Le Jambot
, 1952). At the same time, several Belgian writers settled in France. Authors as diverse as Georges Simenon, Henri Michaux, Alexis Curvers, who were confiscated by the big brother across the border, nevertheless left traces of this common land in their works. In 1937, Charles Plisnier was the first non-French writer to win the Goncourt prize(Faux Passeports). He went from surrealist creation to the socialist commitment of which his novels are the epic propaganda.A more academic literature
During the German occupation, censorship ensured that literary creation was forced to take refuge in genres relatively detached from contemporary reality: fantasy narrative, detective fiction and uncommitted poetry. These genres continued to flourish after the Liberation. After the Second World War, the revolutionary tendencies of the inter-war period seem to have been completely forgotten, and Americanophilia took hold: it was no longer the time for pro-communism or even for committed reflection or literature. During this period, and with rare exceptions, there is no avant-garde in Belgium, no challenge to the established order. The most famous Belgian fantasy writer is certainly Jean Ray (Les Contes du Whisky, 1925; Malpertuis, 1943), whose best stories were published in the middle of the war. In this genre, we can also mention Franz Hellens, Thomas Owen, Marcel Thiry (who also wrote poetry)... At the same time, several authors devoted themselves to detective novels. One will retain Stanislas-André Steeman (The murderer lives at 21, 1939) and, of course, Georges Simenon, father of the famous commissioner Maigret and the most famous Belgian writer. However, a few isolated individuals remain outside the official academia. These are often survivors of the surrealist adventure or young creators who have been directly affected by it. Henri Michaux published, in these years, some of his most beautiful texts: L'Espace de dedans (1944), L'Infini turbulent (1957). Less esoteric are the works of Louis Scutenaire (Mes inscriptions, 1945-1963), Christian Dotremont, Achille Chavée... They have, among others, the interest of preserving a "counter-power" in the wise literary Belgium of the time.
The era of the historical novel
In the 1960s and 1970s, a few authors, without necessarily claiming a specific commitment, give an account of the struggles that have shaken the world since the war, anchoring their novels in historical reality. This is the case of René Kalisky, who published Jim the Bold in 1973. The author illustrates the ambiguous fascination that Nazism exerted on so many men, and even on its own victims. Pierre Mertens, for his part, published Les Bons Offices (1974) and Terre d'asile (1978), novels that refer to historical events (independence of the Congo, the Biafran genocide, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Chilean dictatorship) that interfere with individual lives. At that time, the need for a renewal of literary creation seemed to be increasingly on the agenda. Far from any theory, any system, various Belgian writers ventured into original paths, with works that were often realistic and evoked the contemporary environment, or on the contrary ventured into the realm of dreams, utopia...
Nowadays
If Paris seems an obligatory passage for Belgian authors, a new generation of writers has emerged in French-speaking Belgium. The best known of these writers is undoubtedly Amélie Nothomb, who is enjoying great international success. Since 1992, when she was revealed with L'Hygiène de l'assassin, the novelist has published a new book every year. Although her work is less surprising than in her early days, her novels remain effective and expected. Jean-Philippe Toussaint has won several awards (including the Prix Médicis for his novel Fuir, in 2005) and is one of the most respected figures in contemporary Belgian literature. We should also mention Henry Bauchau (who died in 2012), who is one of the most emblematic Belgian authors, notably with his work on the updating of the founding myths of our European civilisation through works such as Oedipus on the Road (1990) and Antigone (1997). Without forgetting François Weyergans, a member of the Académie française since 2009, who was awarded the Renaudot prize(La Démence du boxeur, 1992) and the Goncourt prize(Trois Jours chez ma mère, 2005). We should also mention Thomas Gunzig(Mort d'un parfait bilingue, 2001; Assortiment pour une vie meilleure, 2009), Nicolas Ancion(L'homme qui refusait de mourir, 2010; Courir jusqu'à New York, 2013). Finally, although French nationalized, Didier Van Cauwelaert(Rencontre sous X, 2002; Double Identité, 2012) is also of Belgian origin.
Walloon literature
Walloon literature, which appeared during the 16th century, was initially limited to a serious game of intellectuals before being expressed in the most diverse forms: epic and lyrical poems, sometimes claiming, theatre, tales, hymns, historical and philosophical novels. An anthology, published in 1979, presents 296 texts by 104 authors. Walloon is above all a precious language, a vehicle of affection and oral traditions, which continues to live on in songs and sayings, in humour and stories. Also worth reading is the anthology Poètes wallons d'aujourd'hui, compiled by Maurice Piron and published by Gallimard in 1961. Every two years, the city of Liège organises a Walloon Literature Prize.
