In 1985, the writer best known by the pen name Antoine Volodine published the first of what at present count are forty-eight books of experimental dystopian political fiction, encompassing a cycle that the author has named “post-exoticism.” At once an invented literary category, an imagined community of dissident writers, and a sustained performance in which the author speaks for that community in public appearances, post-exoticism is one of the most singular artistic endeavors in contemporary French writing. Post-exoticism is now nearing its end, with Volodine on the cusp of publishing the forty-ninth volume in this cycle, which the author has publicly stated will be the last. To commemorate the closure of this chapter of literary history, we are holding a two-day mini-symposium on May 7-8, during which we will hear from scholars, editors, and translators who have worked closely with Volodine's fiction.

If you would like to attend the symposium virtually, please register to receive a Zoom link HERE.

All events are in the Class of 1930 Room (Rockefeller 106) unless otherwise noted.

Thursday, May 7 

9:30: Coffee and Light Snacks

9:45: Opening Remarks, yasser elhariry (Chair, French & Italian Studies)

10:00-11:30: Gina Stamm (U of Alabama) "The Post-Exotic Breaks Containment" and Aubrey Gabel (Columbia U) "Volodine, Our Author(s): Negotiating a Public Persona"

11:30-14:00: Conference Lunch

14:00-15:30: Lucas Hollister (French and Italian), "Comancer: Volodine with Blanchot" and Drew Burk (Philosopher, Translator, Editor), "L'oeuvre se cherche et se contemple : Volodine, le Bardo et l'allégorie de la lecture"

15:45-17:15: Round Table: "Translating Volodine in Forty-Nine Lessons, Lesson 50" with Jeffrey Zuckerman (Translator) and Brian Evenson (California Institute of the Arts)

18:30: Confrence Dinner (shuttle leaving Hanover Inn at 18:00)