Sovereign moments: May 1968, ecriture, and the French literary journal L'Ephemere (1967-1972).

Abstract

In the dissertation I argue that the French literary and arts journal L'Ephemere (1967-1972) should be situated in relation to the literary phenomenon of ecriture, a utopian writing practice which aimed to exceed all ideological constraints. L'Ephemere was edited by Yves Bonnefoy, Jacques Dupin, Louis-Rene des Forets, Michel Leiris, Andre du Bouchet, Gaetan Picon and Paul Celan. As interviews I conducted with Bonnefoy, du Bouchet and Dupin reveal, the editors do not see themselves as having participated in a culturally dominant theoretical discourse. They view L'Ephemere as outside of all ideologies. But, as I discuss in my first chapter, this only serves to solidify the notion that L'Ephemere can, indeed, be viewed in relation to the theory of ecriture, for the ideal of absolute exteriority formed the basis for this theory. Chapter Two focuses on L'Ephemere's relation to other literary journals, such as Tel Quel. I show that whereas Tel Quel concerned itself largely with theorizing ecriture, L'Ephemere devoted itself wholly to practice. In Chapter Three I argue that the journal's preference for informal, unfinished pieces that juxtapose writing and visual art reveals a preoccupation with the act, rather than the product, of creation. This focus on experience is part of what connects the journal to the phenomenon of ecriture. L'Ephemere thus relates ecriture with certain forms of visual art, such as l'art informel and the sketch aesthetic. My examination of L'Ephemere's relation to the events of 1968, undertaken in Chapter Four, concludes that certain of the editors, as well as figures such as Maurice Blanchot, experienced May 1968 as an actualization of the theory of ecriture. For them it represented the possibility of a social life which might stand outside of all categories--just as ecriture represented the possibility of writing outside of all ideological constraints. The final chapter situates the work of L'Ephemere editor Paul Celan within the journal, asserting that he, too, practices a kind of ecriture, but that he performs a dystopic reading of the term, interrupting, and challenging, the French L'Ephemere poets' utopic vision.