Marie Giraud-Claude-Lafontaine holds a PhD in the humanities devoted to new forms of literary engagement in the contemporary francophone literature of Belgium, which was carried out at the Institute of Romance Philology at the Jagiellonian University of Cracow (Poland) under the supervision of Professor Waclaw Rapak and Dr. Marc Quaghebeur, one of the most eminent specialists in francophone literature in Belgium. She is now a French-language lecturer at the University of Porto. She is interested in Belgian francophone literature, contemporary francophone literatures, textual analysis and the sociocritical approach to literary texts. She has published articles on Belgian authors such as Charles De Coster, Georges Simenon, Paul Willems, Conrad Detrez, Henry Bauchau, Thierry Haumont, Jean Muno, Nicolas Ancion, Thomas Gunzig, Lisette Lombé and Kenan Görgün. Her book analysis on the famous French writer Anna Gavalda (Je voudrais que quelqu’un m’attende quelque part, 1999) has been translated into five languages (Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, German and Polish). In charge of the cultural and scientific promotion of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles in Poland for several years, she has had the opportunity to organise and co-organise numerous events (festivals, exhibitions, round tables, conferences) and to supervise academic and scientific cooperation projects between Wallonie-Bruxelles and Poland.