Crying out the Crisis, Denying the Crisis: Loneliness and Solidarity in the Poetic Experience of Michel Houellebecq and Colette Nys-Mazure

Abstract

This article juxtaposes two strains of “the imagination of crisis” that manifest in the poetic practice of two contemporary francophone writers – the Michel Houellebecq (French) and the Colette Nys-Mazure (Belgian). Examination of several characteristic traits of their imaginary universes, such as for example the figure of the Father and of the Mother, invites reflection on the profound motivation that belies their artistic and existential standpoints. It would appear that the poetic strategies each adopts in the face of fundamental existential problems, correspond more or less directly to the Christian virtues (faith, hope, love), even though for Houellebecq (atheist or agnostic) the point of departure is the “dark side” of life, whilst Nys-Mazure (Christian, Catholic) chooses the “bright side”: both poets prefer to build rather than tear down. The intuition of a transcendence that emanates from their thirst for harmony in the chaotic modern world makes it possible to claim that poetry, which is capable of either “shouting the crisis from the rooftops” or refuting it, might possibly succeed in counteracting the “crise des vers”.