While Albert Camus is an internationally acclaimed figure, Jean Sénac has struggled to gain recognition, even in France and Algeria. The correspondence between the Nobel Prize recipient and the young poet, documented in this illuminating collection, is a testimony to a little-known friendship that lasted for over a decade (1947–1958) and coincided with the escalating conflict between France and Algeria. Their letters shed light on a passionate conflict that opposed two men on two sides of the Algerian War. On one side, Camus distanced himself from an Algerian insurrection that was becoming increasingly violent. On the other, Sénac espoused the armed insurrection of the National Liberation Front and Algeria’s right to independence and freedom. The exchange between Sénac and Camus allows for a deeper and more personal understanding of the Algerian conflict, and of the crucial role of writers, poets, and thinkers in the midst of a fratricidal colonial conflict. The letters translated here are also the intimate dialog between two men who had much in common and who shared a deep love for each other and for their homeland.
ContentsForeword by Guy DugasPreface by the TranslatorIntroductionPart I. From a Literary Father to an Impossible Father (1947–1954)Chapter 1. Birth of a FriendshipChapter 2. Algerianism or École d’AlgerChapter 3. The Son Faces the FatherChapter 4. Towards a Political LiteraturePart II. Literature between Rebellion and Revolution (1954–1958)Chapter 5. November 1954: The “Just” Fight or Terrorism?Chapter 6. The Civil TruceChapter 7. From a Literature of Combat to the Nobel PrizeChapter 8. Sénac, Reader of CamusConclusionPart III. Correspondence and Radio ShowsJean Sénac and Albert Camus’s CorrespondenceTwo Shows from Radio Algeria, Produced by Jean SénacNotesBibliography
