SARTRE JEAN-PAUL: (1905-1980) French Existentialist philosopher, playwright, novelist and literary critic. Sartre ...

SARTRE JEAN-PAUL: (1905-1980) French Existentialist philosopher, playwright, novelist and literary critic. Sartre was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1964, which he declined. Autograph Manuscript, unsigned, one page, 4to, n.p., (Paris), n.d. (November 1953), in French. The working manuscript, containing a few deletions and corrections, is written in honour of Yves Farge, who had died earlier that year, and states, in part, 'J'ai connu Yves Farges quelques mois avant se mort.....Du premier coup, il m'a seduit par sa puissance silencieuse, par la patience du corps et de l'esprit avec laquelle il ecoutait les contradicteurs, par l'autorite de ses breves reponses, qui revelait la profondeur de ses convictions, et.....par la chaude amitie qu'il portait a tous les hommes, par cette confiance.....qu'il temoignait a chacun. Au Congres de Vienne il allait de groupe en groupe....il interrogeait inlassablement les delegues - tous les delegues, mettant tout le soin dont il etait capable a degager les courants qui brassaient cette grande foule; il etait le lien vivant de tous avec chacun, il voulait tenir compte de tous nos desirs et s'en faisait l'interprete aupres des autres organisateurs.....nous savions......qu'il etait un des principaux artisans de ce Congres.....ce que j'ai admire le plus en lui: le gout passionne des contacts directs et cet amour si vivant, si concret de la Democratie en acte' (Translation: 'I knew Yves Farges a few months before he died….From the first try, he seduced me by his silent power, by the patience of body and mind with which he listened to opponents, by the authority of his brief answers, which revealed the depth of his convictions, and…..by the warm friendship he bore to all men, by this confidence….that he showed to everyone. At the Congress of Vienna he went from group to group. He tirelessly questioned the delegates - all the delegates, taking all the care of which he was capable of freeing the currents which stirred this great crowd; he was everyone's living link with everyone, he wanted to take into account all our wishes and made himself the interpreter for the other organisers….we knew….that he was one of the main architects of this Congress…..what I admired most in him was his passionate taste for direct contact and this love so alive, so concrete of Democracy in action'). Accompanied by an A.L.S., J P Sartre, one page, 4to, n.p. (Paris), 17th November 1953, to Madame [Farge], in French. Sartre apologises for his delay and expresses his sympathy and the deep esteem which Farge inspired in him, also informing his correspondent that he will unfortunately not be able to go to Austria because the adaptation of his play Kean 'passé ce soir en ''générale'' et il faut que je sois aupres des acteurs toute le semaine qui suit' (Translation: 'is on tonight in ''general'' and I have to be with the actors all the time next week'), adding that he hopes to be freer later and have the opportunity to express his respectful friendship personally. Some very light overall creasing and minor age wear, about VG, 2 Yves Farge (1899-1953) French journalist and politician who worked with the French Resistance during World War II. Farge, a progressive politician close to the communists, participated in the founding of the Mouvement de la Paix in 1947 and served as the organisation's president until his death in a car accident in Georgia on 31st March 1953. While the World Congress of People for Peace, which was held in Vienna from 12th - 19th December 1952, is generally viewed as Soviet propaganda, Jean-Paul Sartre counted it among the most important experiences of his life. His participation marked a major turning point in his evolution, insofar as it publicly confirmed his status as a fellow traveller of the Communist Party.