What does contemporary French poetry do to the subject ? This book examines the means and effects of the subject’s transmutation into various processes of (de-)subjectivation by looking at the works of several contemporary writers. It explores specific texts in the context of Gilles Deleuze’s philosophy, building a critical apparatus – a ‘poetics of becoming’ – that informs close readings of poems and prose. Moving beyond established criteria of classical literary criticism, the book both offers a comparative discussion of Deleuze’s notions of literature and provides new insights into French writing, addressing the political dimension of contemporary poetry from the perspective of current theoretical radicalism.

Through a wealth of scholarly materials, original interviews and acute close readings, this study offers a thorough appraisal of the creative and critical endeavour of four remarkable yet lesser-​known contemporary French writers. (…) Poetic Becomings makes a welcome and indispensable contribution to noncanonical contemporary French writing that should vigorously stimulate critical interest and further academic exploration.

Nathalie Dupond, Modern & Contemporary France, 2013