par Anna Boschetti
1989, in La Revue des revues no 7
Les Temps modernes in the literary field of 1945 to 1970
The aim of Les Temps modernes, as defined by Jean-Paul Sartre in its first issue of octobre 1945, was essentially literary : far from forgetting literature « only those committed » writers, according to Sartre, were capable of giving to the public a new and suitable literature. In this way, the history of Les Temps modernes became integral to the conflict between the different factions which, following the war, pretended to incarnate the single legitimate orientation for literary research. The author retraces this confrontation, analysing the development of Sartre and his group in relation to that of the « Nouveau Roman » which represented the principal opponent to Sartre’s « littérature engagée ».