belletrism, belles-lettrism

the view that literature is a fine art, especially as having a purely aesthetic function. — belletrist, n. — belles lettres, n. — belletristic, adj.

See also: Literature

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References in periodicals archive

As a writer, Gardner was sufficiently concrete, observant, and lively, but she was no Edith Wharton or Isak Dinesen: her matronly guise did not conceal a furtive belles-lettrism. Gardner is likeably unpretentious in this regard, but at the same time three-hundred pages of what amounts to a lightly ornamented travel itinerary runs a little dry.

Alan Chong & Noriko Murai, eds., Journeys East: Isabella Stewart Gardner and Asia

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