Louis Janover (born 1937) is a French essayist, translator and publisher. He is a theorist of

council communism Council communism is a current of communist thought that emerged in the 1920s. Inspired by the November Revolution, council communism was opposed to state socialism and advocated workers' councils and council democracy. Strong in Germany a ...

. In 1956, he signed a leaflet drafted mainly by André Breton with the

surrealist Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...

group, ''Hongrie, soleil levant'', supporting the

Hungarian Revolution of 1956 The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 10 November 1956; hu, 1956-os forradalom), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the Hunga ...

. Andre Breton and Benjamin Peret,
Hungary, Rising Sun
', flyer of the Surrealist Group about the Budapest uprising, Nov. 1956. He was member of the Spartacus group (1961-1963) alongside Roger Langlais and Bernard Pécheur. In 1961, he signed the "

Manifesto of the 121 The Manifesto of the 121 (french: Manifeste des 121, full title: ''Déclaration sur le droit à l’insoumission dans la guerre d’Algérie'' or ''Declaration on the right of insubordination in the Algerian War'') was an open letter signed by 121 i ...

" in the first and only issue of the surrealist magazine ''Sédition'', which was also signed by

André Breton André Robert Breton (; 19 February 1896 – 28 September 1966) was a French writer and poet, the co-founder, leader, and principal theorist of surrealism. His writings include the first ''Surrealist Manifesto'' (''Manifeste du surréalisme'') o ...

Michèle Bernstein Michèle Bernstein (born 28 April 1932) is a French novelist and critic, most often remembered as a member of the Situationist International from its foundation in 1957 until 1967, and as the first wife of its most prominent member, Guy Debord. ...

and

Guy Debord Guy-Ernest Debord (; ; 28 December 1931 – 30 November 1994) was a French Marxist theorist, philosopher, filmmaker, critic of work, member of the Letterist International, founder of a Letterist faction, and founding member of the Situationis ...

. Following the dissolution of the Spartacus group, he created and directed from 1963 to 1969 the magazine ''Front Noir'', where he collaborated with Gaëtan Langlais, a member of the

Letterist International The Letterist International (LI) was a Paris-based collective of radical artists and cultural theorists between 1952 and 1957. It was created by Guy Debord and Gil J. Wolman rejoined by Jean-Louis Brau and Serge Berna as a schism from Isidore I ...

, and Jacques Moreau, a painter and engraver close to Guy Debord. Fiercely opposed to the theories of the

Situationist International The Situationist International (SI) was an international organization of social revolutionaries made up of avant-garde artists, intellectuals, and political theorists. It was prominent in Europe from its formation in 1957 to its dissolution ...

, he published many council communist texts in his magazine and proposes to develop a radical critique of the concept of the

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

. Close to

Maximilien Rubel Maximilien Rubel (10 October 1905, in Chernivtsi – 28 February 1996, in Paris) was a famous Marxist historian and council communist. Rubel was born in western Ukraine and was educated in law and philosophy in Vienna and Chernivtsi National Un ...

, he was co-director of the journal ''Études de marxologie''. In addition to the publication of his own essays, he is a scientific editor and collection director for

Éditions Gallimard Éditions Gallimard (), formerly Éditions de la Nouvelle Revue Française (1911–1919) and Librairie Gallimard (1919–1961), is one of the leading French book publishers. In 2003 it and its subsidiaries published 1,418 titles. Founded by Ga ...

, the ''Bibliothèque de la Pléiade'', ''Paris-Méditerranée'', the '' Éditions Sulliver'', and the ''Éditions de La Nuit''.

Citations

External links

Articles, texts and books
by Louis Janover on the website of the Smolny publishing collective.
Articles
of Louis Janover in

Le Monde libertaire ''Le Monde libertaire'' ( French: ''Libertarian World'') is an anarchist French weekly organ of the Fédération Anarchiste. Founded in 1954, it is the direct successor of ''Le Libertaire'' which was contributed by Albert Camus, Georges Brassen ...

.
The universal bitterness of Louis Janover
by Max Vincent {{DEFAULTSORT:Janover, Louis 1937 births Living people French Marxists French publishers (people)