La critique littéraire de Maurice Nadeau dans France-Observateur en 1954

Abstract

The 1950s were a time of transition both in literary and critical terms. Maurice Nadeau, editor and critic, notably through his literary columns in France-Observateur, was both an actor and a witness to this move towards a New Criticism and towards a renewal of the novel. What idea of literature did Nadeau construct in 1954 in the left-wing intellectual newspaper? What are the characteristics of his criticism and his literary choices? We will see that several tensions are at work, between proletarian and avant-garde literary choices, between ancient and modern criticism, between journalistic criticism (ephemeral) and scholarly criticism (which builds a new literary history).

Keywords

• Presse
• Édition
• Barthes (Roland)
• Critique littéraire
• Nadeau (Maurice)