Fordisme littéraire et écriture à quatre mains Le cas Paul Kenny et le régime industriel de la littérature d'espionnage (1952-1981)

Abstract

This article analyzes the case of Paul Kenny, the collective pseudonym of Belgian writers Jean Libert and Gaston Vandenpanhuyse, to explore the Fordist logics of popular literary production in the second half of the 20th century. The study shows how four-handed writing, far from being a simple artistic choice, responds to a rationalization of work dictated by the editorial constraints of Fleuve Noir, an emblematic publisher of an industrial regime of novel production. Through meticulous work organization, standardization of plots, and partial neutralization of individual styles, Libert and Vandenpanhuyse established a true assembly line for espionage novels. The character of Coplan, the diegetic pivot of the series, embodies this serial unity that supplants authorial singularity: one reads a Coplan more than a Paul Kenny. This shift of authorship towards the character and the collection illustrates the mutation of the popular reading contract in the Fordist era, where the editorial brand and serial logics replace the figure of the author. In conclusion, the article offers a theoretical reflection on literary collaboration and serial production as emblematic forms of the industrial modernity of popular culture.