Les Temps Modernes

Les Temps Modernes was a leftist political review associated with Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre. After the war, Beauvoir edited the journal and contributed to it while emerging as a leading figure in the existentialist movement; it was one strand of a working life that also encompassed major philosophical writing and other literary projects.

Nature and Editorial Work

The evidence identifies Les Temps Modernes as a political review with a leftist orientation. Beauvoir both edited and wrote for it, making the journal a site of her active intellectual and political work rather than simply an association by name. Her role connected editorial labor with her own contributions to public debate.

Place in Beauvoir’s Work

Beauvoir’s work for the review continued alongside her writing and other commitments. Between 1946 and 1949, she researched and composed The Second Sex while also traveling, pursuing other literary projects, and working on Les Temps Modernes. The scale of that undertaking places the review within a notably crowded period of her intellectual production, not outside it.

Association with Sartre and Existentialism

The review was associated with Jean-Paul Sartre, identified as its editor and as Beauvoir’s partner in this work. After the war, Beauvoir emerged as one of the leaders of the existentialist movement, and her collaboration with Sartre on Les Temps Modernes formed part of that public intellectual presence. The available account establishes their shared work and the journal’s political character, without detailing its organization, specific issues, or readership.