Yves Di Manno

With "Élagage" (Flammarion, 2026), Yves di Manno presents a pointed final assessment of his decades-long reflections on poetry: The volume gathers scattered texts—reviews, portraits, essays—assembled into a deliberately fragmentary cartography of poetry since the late 20th century. At its core lies a twofold movement of "clearing": on the one hand, the unveiling of hidden lines of tradition (especially those of North American Modernism and Belgian Surrealism), and on the other, a critique of rigid forms, fashionable discourses, and a contemporary poetry that has degenerated into self-dramatization. The result is not a systematic panorama, but a counter-canon that shifts the margins to the center and defends poetry as precise linguistic work. At the same time, the book marks a historical turning point: With it comes the end of the "Poésie/Flammarion" series, shaped by di Manno over three decades, which made a significant contribution to the visibility of contemporary poetry. Thus, “Élagage” appears not as a nostalgic lament, but as a critical handover—an invitation to continue the “discreet efficacy” of poetic forms under altered cultural conditions. Through the combination of personal reading history, editorial practice, and poetological reflection, the book becomes an instrument of orientation: it not only takes stock but also opens up perspectives on a future, resistant poetics beyond established literary routines.