{"id":340,"date":"2019-09-13T14:05:28","date_gmt":"2019-09-13T13:05:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/protestinprint.co.uk\/?page_id=340"},"modified":"2023-10-02T14:48:29","modified_gmt":"2023-10-02T13:48:29","slug":"reviews-in-french","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/more.bham.ac.uk\/protestinprint\/?page_id=340","title":{"rendered":"Reviews in French"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Writer Abdellatif La\u00e2bi founded the review\u00a0Souffles<\/em>\u00a0in Rabat in 1966. It aimed to go beyond stereotypes of Moroccan culture or of anti-colonial resistance and make more widely known new, modern writing in French by Moroccan authors. The extract below is reproduced by kind permission of Abdellatif La\u00e2bi. Extracts from\u00a0Souffles<\/em>\u00a0were translated and published alongside extracts from its Arabic sister journal,\u00a0Anfas<\/em>, in\u00a0Souffles-Anfas: A Critical Anthology from the Moroccan Journal of Culture and Politics\u00a0<\/em>edited by Olivia C. Harrison and Teresa Villa-Ignacio and published by Stanford University Press in 2016. Translation \u00a9 2016 by the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Jr. University. All rights reserved. Used by permission of the publisher, Stanford University Press, www.sup.org.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Not only were the events of May \u201968 in Paris among the best known of the protests at this period, but the review was an important form in twentieth-century France. French reviews often focused on literary or artistic content rather than cultural commentary, but in 1968 many contributors wrote explicitly about the protests. Caroline Hoctan has published texts from reviews in her French-language anthology\u00a0Mai 68 en revues<\/em>\u00a0(IMEC, 2008). The extracts reprinted here from\u00a0Les lettres nouvelles<\/em>,\u00a0Tel Quel<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Esprit<\/em>\u00a0are taken from that anthology, though\u00a0L\u2019\u00c9ph\u00e9m\u00e8re\u00a0<\/em>was not included. Editorials frequently acted as statements of intent and editorial teams considered themselves to be communities with common interests (Charles Forsdick and Andy Stafford discuss the features of French reviews in their volume\u00a0La revue: The twentieth-century periodical in French\u00a0<\/em>(Peter Lang, 2013)). May \u201968 brought politics, literature and culture together in the French review, and editors felt obliged to adopt a position on the protests, which led in some instances to rifts among colleagues or subsequent changes in the direction taken by the reviews. The pages of reviews were the site of debate and took forward, in new ways, French reflection on what\u00a0litt\u00e9rature engag\u00e9e<\/em>, or \u2018committed literature\u2019 might mean in the late twentieth century.<\/p>\n

All other translations by Emma Wagstaff<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u00a0<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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from Mobilisation-tract<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

par Abdellatif La\u00e2bi<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A GENOUX LES DAMNES DE LA TERRE<\/p>\n\n\n\n

bonne ann\u00e9e camarades<\/p>\n\n\n\n

la lutte continue<\/p>\n\n\n\n

cette grande humanit\u00e9 a dit assez<\/p>\n\n\n\n

mosch\u00e9 dayan inspecte<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e0 l\u2019ombre des mirages<\/p>\n\n\n\n

shalom napalm<\/p>\n\n\n\n

les cosmonautes ont vu \u00e0 l\u2019\u0153il nu la face cach\u00e9e de la lune<\/p>\n\n\n\n

le dollar conna\u00eet des hauts et des bas<\/p>\n\n\n\n

la livre sterling \u00e9ternellement menac\u00e9e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

de gaulle multiplie ses frasques<\/p>\n\n\n\n

et se retire grand seigneur<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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 from Mobilization-tract<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Abdellatif La\u00e2bi, translated by Olivia C. Harrison<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ON YOUR KNEES WRETCHED OF THE EARTH<\/p>\n\n\n\n

happy new year comrades<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the struggle goes on<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the great humanity has said enough<\/p>\n\n\n\n

moshe dayan inspects<\/p>\n\n\n\n

in the shadow of mirages<\/p>\n\n\n\n

shalom napalm<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the cosmonauts have seen the hidden face of the moon with their bare eyes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the dollar is seesawing<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the sterling pound eternally threatened<\/p>\n\n\n\n

de gaulle keeps making mischief<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and then nobly retires<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Esprit<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

from <\/em><\/strong>\u2018Mai 68 : l\u2019insurrection de la jeunesse\u2019 (\u2018May 68: Youth\u2019s Insurrection)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

no<\/sup> 372 (June-July 1968)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Certes le movement avait touch\u00e9 d\u00e9j\u00e0 les \u00c9tats-Unis, l\u2019Allemagne, l\u2019Italie\u2026 Mais Paris lui a donn\u00e9 une vigueur et un \u00e9cho particuliers. Au lieu de se retourner contre les \u00e9tudiants, la population a soutenu et compris leur mouvement. De jeunes ouvriers l\u2019ont r\u00e9percut\u00e9 dans les usines. Un accord profond s\u2019est esquiss\u00e9 qui laissera des traces. [\u2026] Derri\u00e8re la police, ce que visaient les pav\u00e9s n\u2019avait pas de nom : c\u2019\u00e9tait le conservatisme autoritaire des caciques, la bureaucratie stupide, la publicit\u00e9 b\u00e9ate, la cruaut\u00e9 abstraite qui condamne le tiers de l\u2019humanit\u00e9 \u00e0 la famine, l\u2019\u00e9chec de nos r\u00e9volutions, la capitulation de nos esp\u00e9rances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s true that the USA, Germany, and Italy had already been marked by protest. But Paris energised and spread the movement in a distinctive way. Instead of turning against the students, the general public understood and supported their cause. Young factory workers protested too. They worked in harmony, something that will leave a lasting trace. [\u2026] Beyond the police, the paving stones [thrown by protesters] had a target without a name: the authoritarian conservatism of the leaders, stupid bureaucracy, smug advertising, the abstract cruelty that condemns a third of humanity to suffer famine, the failure of our revolutions, the surrendering of our hopes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Esprit<\/em> was founded in 1932, and aims to appeal to a general and academic readership. The review is international in focus, and offers reflections on contemporary events and cultural currents through a broad lens of \u2018ideas\u2019.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Les lettres nouvelles<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

from<\/em><\/strong> \u2018Vivre en Mai\u2026\u2019 (\u2018Living in May\u2019), by Jean Chesneaux<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

no<\/sup> 65 (September-October 1968)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

En Mai 1968, dans les conditions historiques dont nous ne nous dissimulons pas la pr\u00e9carit\u00e9 et le caract\u00e8re exceptionnel, nous avons n\u00e9anmoins entrevu un nouvel art de vivre. Nous avons enfin pu voir de l\u2019ext\u00e9rieur<\/em> la critique de notre vie quotidienne, trier le factice et l\u2019authentique, distinguer les faux besoins et les besoins r\u00e9els. Nous avons d\u00e9couvert que le roi \u00e9tait nu !\u2026 Les repas comme rite social ne comptaient plus, et nous nous alimentions au hasard des journ\u00e9es. L\u2019argent ne comptait plus gu\u00e8re non plus, et nos journ\u00e9es \u00e9taient trop bien remplies pour nous exposer aux sollicitations multiples de la soci\u00e9t\u00e9 de la \u00ab consommation \u00bb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In May 1968, in historical circumstances whose temporary and exceptional nature I am not attempting to hide, we nevertheless glimpsed a new way of living. At last we could adopt an external<\/em> critical perspective on our everyday life, separate what is fake from what is authentic, distinguish between illusory and real needs. We discovered that the Emperor has no clothes! We were no longer interested in meals as social rituals, and just ate at random during the day. Money had hardly any importance either, and our days were too full to expose us to the multiple temptations of the \u2018consumer\u2019 society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Les lettres nouvelles <\/em>was founded in 1953 by Maurice Nadeau (1911-2013) as a monthly review of new writing, and featured French and foreign authors. Nadeau was a major figure in the French literary scene, from his articles after the Second World War for Resistance magazine Combat<\/em> to his editorship of La Quinzaine litt\u00e9raire<\/em> (1966-). He was the first to publish writers who went on to gain an international reputation, including Georges Perec and Michel Houllebecq.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Tel Quel<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

from <\/em><\/strong>\u2018La r\u00e9volution est ici maintenant\u2019 (The revolution is here now)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

no<\/sup> 34 (summer 1968)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. la construction [\u2026] d\u2019une th\u00e9orie tir\u00e9e de la pratique textuelle que nous avons \u00e0 d\u00e9velopper nous semble susceptible d\u2019\u00e9viter les impasses r\u00e9p\u00e9titives du discours \u00ab engag\u00e9 \u00bb [\u2026]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. cette construction devra faire partie, selon son mode de production complexe, de la th\u00e9orie marxiste-l\u00e9niniste, seule th\u00e9orie r\u00e9volutionnaire de notre temps, et porter sur l\u2019int\u00e9gration critique des pratiques les plus \u00e9labor\u00e9es ( philosophie, linguistique, s\u00e9miologie, psychanalyse, \u00ab litt\u00e9rature \u00bb, histoire des sciences ) ;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. toute entreprise id\u00e9ologique qui ne se pr\u00e9sente pas aujourd\u2019hui sous une forme th\u00e9orique avanc\u00e9e et se contente de se regrouper sous des d\u00e9nominations \u00e9clectiques ou sentimentales des activit\u00e9s intellectuelles et faiblement politiques, nous para\u00eet contre-r\u00e9volutionnaire [\u2026].<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. the theory of textual practice that we are planning to develop seems us well placed to avoid the repetitive dead end of \u2018committed\u2019 discourse [\u2026]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. the theory we construct must, according to its complex production method, form part of Marxist-Leninist theory, the only revolutionary theory of our times, and it must critically combine the most sophisticated practices (philosophy, linguistics, semiology, psychoanalysis, \u2018literature\u2019, and the history of science)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. any ideological endeavour that does not present itself today in advanced theoretical form, instead forming a loose grouping of unrelated or emotional activities that are intellectual, but barely political, seems to us to be counter-revolutionary [\u2026].<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The text, from the editorial to issue 34, was signed in Paris by a number of writers and intellectuals including Julia Kristeva, Jacqueline Risset, Marcelin Pleynet, Denis Roche, and Pierre Boulez. The editorial consisted of seven numbered points and ended by stating that a theoretical study group was to be constituted, its first meeting taking place in October of the same year. The word \u2018litt\u00e9rature\u2019 is placed in inverted commas because the group rejected not only the respect accorded to literature but even the notion of literature as a category of writing. Tel Quel<\/em> became well known for this theoretical stance, which sought to make the textual political, and it is often set in contrast with the poetic emphasis in the journal L\u2019\u00c9ph\u00e9m\u00e8re.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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L\u2019\u00c9ph\u00e9m\u00e8re<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From \u2018\u00ab Sous les pav\u00e9s, la plage \u00bb. [Notes du       mai 1968]\u2019 (Under the paving stones, the beach [Notes from     May 1968], by Andr\u00e9 du Bouchet, L\u2019\u00c9ph\u00e9m\u00e8re<\/em>, 6 (summer 1968)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 Maintenir la place<\/p>\n\n\n\n

d\u00e9couverte vide ( ouverte )<\/p>\n\n\n\n

O\u00f9 un seul peut faire sienne cette br\u00e8che aujourd\u2019hui g\u00e9n\u00e9ralis\u00e9e dans<\/p>\n\n\n\n

le savoir ( \u00ab ce qu\u2019on sait n\u2019est pas \u00e0 soi \u00bb )\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[\u2026]                                                                Cesser d\u2019\u00e9crire, un temps, et<\/p>\n\n\n\n

r\u00e9server    l\u2019emplacement    de      ce vide   \u2013   de l\u2019\u00e9cart ( pour que<\/p>\n\n\n\n

le vent continue de souffler )  dans la mise en cause g\u00e9n\u00e9rale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Que la place d\u2019un \u00ab \u00e9crivain \u00bb, par exemple, ici soit marquee par ce<\/p>\n\n\n\n

vide ( le temps qu\u2019il aura cess\u00e9 d\u2019\u00e9crire ) \u2026    Que demeure vacante,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

dans    le  nouveau   d\u00e9placement   commun,   la   place   de   qui   \u00e0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

nouveau peut-\u00eatre, \u00e9crira\u2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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L\u2019\u00c9ph\u00e9m\u00e8re<\/em> was a literary journal that appeared between 1967 and 1972. It published predominantly poetry and poetic prose alongside translations from other European languages, and artwork. Contributors rarely commented on political events, but May 1968 was an exception, and one of the founding editors, Andr\u00e9 du Bouchet, wrote a piece that took as its title a May \u201968 slogan, \u2018Sous les pav\u00e9s, la plage\u2019 , which referred to the way in which demonstrators ripped up traditional French paving stones during the protest. His writing is poetic and not always clear to understand. In this text he was inspired by calls to redefine the status of the writer, rather than only allowing an elite with a certain level of education and literary knowledge to be called writers. Along with many others, he wanted knowledge and expression to be available to all, rather than held onto and hoarded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 Keep the empty<\/p>\n\n\n\n

uncovered place (open)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where a person can make her own today\u2019s widespread breach<\/p>\n\n\n\n

in knowledge (\u2018one never owns what one knows\u2019)\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[\u2026]                                                     Stop writing, for a moment, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

keep   the   place   of   this   emptiness   \u2013   of this gap   ( so that<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the wind can carry on blowing) in the general questioning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let    the   place    of   a    \u2018writer\u2019,    for   example,    be   marked    by   this<\/p>\n\n\n\n

emptiness    (while  he\u2019s  stopped  writing) \u2026    Let  the place  of  the  one<\/p>\n\n\n\n

who will, perhaps, write afresh, in the new displacement common to all,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

remain unoccupied\u2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Writer Abdellatif La\u00e2bi founded the review\u00a0Souffles\u00a0in Rabat in 1966. It aimed to go beyond stereotypes of Moroccan culture or of anti-colonial resistance and make more widely known new,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2477,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-full-width.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-340","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/more.bham.ac.uk\/protestinprint\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/340","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/more.bham.ac.uk\/protestinprint\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/more.bham.ac.uk\/protestinprint\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/more.bham.ac.uk\/protestinprint\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2477"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/more.bham.ac.uk\/protestinprint\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=340"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/more.bham.ac.uk\/protestinprint\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/340\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":678,"href":"https:\/\/more.bham.ac.uk\/protestinprint\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/340\/revisions\/678"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/more.bham.ac.uk\/protestinprint\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}