«Les Temps Modernes»: История французского литературного журнала

French bimonthly literary magazine (1945–2019)

Les Temps Modernes was a French journal, founded by Simone de Beauvoir, Jean Paul Sartre, and Maurice Merleau Ponty. Its first issue was published in October 1945. It was named after the 1936 film by Charlie Chaplin. Les Temps Modernes filled the void left by the disappearance of the most important pre war literary magazine, La Nouvelle Revue Française (The New French Review), considered to be André Gide's magazine, which was shut down by the authorities after the liberation of France because of its collaboration with the occupation. Les Temps Modernes was first published by Gallimard and was last published by Gallimard. In between, the magazine changed hands three times: Julliard (January 1949 to September 1965), Presses d'aujourd'hui (October 1964 to March 1985), Gallimard (from April 1985). Les Temps Modernes ceased publication in 2019, after 74 years.

The first editorial board consisted of Sartre (director), Raymond Aron, Simone de Beauvoir, Michel Leiris, Maurice Merleau Ponty, Albert Ollivier, and Jean Paulhan. All published many articles for the magazine. Sartre's contributions included "La nationalisation de la littérature" ("The Nationalisation of Literature"), "Matérialisme et révolution" ("Materialism and Revolution"), and "Qu'est ce que la littérature?" ("What is Literature?"). Simone de Beauvoir first published Le Deuxième Sexe ("The Second Sex") in Les Temps Modernes. In the preface to the first edition, Sartre stated the review's purpose: to publish littérature engagée. This philosophy of literature expresses a basic creed of existentialism—that an individual is responsible for making conscious decisions to commit socially useful acts. Thus, literature in the magazine would have a utilitarian component; it would not be just culturally valuable ("art for art's sake"). Other intellectuals, such as André Gide, André Breton, and Louis Aragon, disapproved of this orientation. Sartre's response: "Le monde peut fort bien se passer de la littérature. Mais il peut se passer de l'homme encore mieux." ("The world can easily get along without literature. But it can get along even more easily without man.") Sartre disapproved of Camus for seeing both sides in the Algerians' rebellion against their French colonial masters (The Algerian War—1954–62). In his bitterness against Camus, Sartre selected Francis Jeanson, who did not like the works of Camus, to review the Camus essay L'Homme Révolté (The Rebel). When Camus responded to the review with hurt feelings, Sartre put the final blow to a friendship that had lasted for years. He said, "Vous êtes devenu la proie d'une morne démesure qui masque vos difficultés intérieures. Tôt ou tard, quelqu'un vous l'eût dit, autant que ce soit moi." ("You have become the victim of an excessive sullenness that masks your internal problems. Sooner or later, someone would have told you, so it might as well be me.")

Les Temps Modernes enjoyed its greatest influence in the 1960s. At this time, it had more than 20,000 subscribers. During the Algerian War (1954–1962) it strongly supported the National Liberation Front, the primary group in the ultimately successful battle against the French. It fiercely denounced the extensive use of torture by French forces, opposed Charles de Gaulle's government, and supported desertion and resistance to conscription. The journal printed testimonies by French soldiers denouncing the war and torture from 1958 to 1962. In 2001, a special edition was devoted to Serge Doubrovsky. In 2019, following Lanzmann's death, Les Temps Modernes ceased publishing, after 74 years.