He then established in Lille the "Centre de recherche philologique" he ran for years and to which his friend Heinz Wismann participated. According to Barbara Cassin, his philological work is remarkable for its "extraordinary textual vigilance".
In addition to his work as Hellenist with his wife and collaborator Mayotte Bollack, he has published studies on the poetry of Paul Celan, author of which he remains one of the most penetrating commentators.
Publications
Empédocle 1 : introduction à l'ancienne physique, Paris, Minuit, coll. "Le sens commun", 1965, (rééd. des 3 volumes) coll. « Tel » Gallimard.
Empédocle 2 : «Les Origines», edition and translation of fragments and testimonies, Paris, Minuit, coll. "Le sens commun", 1969.
Empédocle 3 : «Les Origines», comments, Paris, Minuit, coll. "Le sens commun", 1969.
Héraclite ou la séparation, in collaboration with Heinz Wismann, Paris, Minuit, coll. "Le sens commun", 1972. [Reference book]
La Pensée du plaisir. Epicure : textes moraux, commentaire, Paris, Minuit, 1975.
La Grèce de personne : les mots sous le mythe, Paris, Seuil, coll. "L'ordre philosophique", 1997.
Euripides, Iphigénie à Aulis, transl. in coll. with Mayotte Bollack, Paris, Minuit, 1990.
Pierre de cœur, (unpublished poem by Paul Celan), Pierre Fanlac Éditeur, 1991.
Euripides, Andromaque, transl. in coll. with Mayotte Bollack, Paris, Minuit, 1994.
La naissance d’Œdipe, (translation and comment of Œdipus Rex), Gallimard, 1995.
Euripides, Hélène, transl. in coll. with Mayotte Bollack, Paris, Minuit, 1997.
Sophocles, Antigone, trans. in coll. with Mayotte Bollack, Paris, Minuit, 1999.
Sens contre sens. Comment lit-on? Interview with Patrick Llored. La Passe du vent, 2000.
Poésie contre poésie (Celan et la littérature), PUF, "Perspectives germaniques", 2001.
Piedra de corazón. Un poema póstumo de Paul Celan. With the help of Arnau Pons. Madrid, Arena Libros, 2002.
L'écrit. Une poétique dans l'œuvre de Celan, PUF, "Perspectives germaniques", 2003.
Euripides, Les Bacchantes, transl. in coll. with Mayotte Bollack, Paris, Minuit, 2004.
Poesía contra poesía. Celan y la literatura. With the help of Arnau Pons. Madrid. Trotta, 2005.
Jean Bollack (2005). Dionysos et la tragédie. Bayard.
Jean Bollack (2006). Parmenide, de l'étant au monde. Lagrasse: Verdier poche. ISBN 286432475X.
Abdelwahab Meddeb, Christian Jambet, Jean Bollack (2007). La conférence de Ratisbonne, Enjeux et controverses. Bayard. ISBN 2227476834.CS1 maint: Multiple names: authors list (link)
Jean Bollack (2011). L'Agamemnon d'Eschyle: Le texte et ses interprétations. Du Septentrion. ISBN 2859391878.
Jean Bollack (2013). Au jour le jour. Paris. Presses Universitaires de France. ISBN 2130619053.
