Jacques Rivière

Born in 1886, Jacques Rivière was a French writer and critic whose career unfolded in the lively literary world of the early 1900s. He is especially remembered for his close connection to La Nouvelle Revue Française (often known as the NRF), one of the most influential French literary journals of its time.

Rivière wrote criticism and essays that combined intellectual seriousness with a very personal, searching tone. Readers have often noted how deeply he engaged with literature, music, religion, and the inner life, and his writing helped define important conversations in French culture before and after World War I.

He died in 1925 at the age of 38, leaving behind a body of work that feels both thoughtful and intensely alive. Though his life was short, his influence lasted through his criticism, his editorial work, and his role in encouraging some of the most important writing of his era.