par Martyn Cornick
1994, in La Revue des revues no 18
Paulhan and La Nouvelle Revue française
Paulhan though often considered an « eminence grise » played a major role in the evolution and success of the NRF. Secretary to Jacques Rivière from 1920 to 1925, then chief editor till 1934, he was appointed director at the beginning of 1935. Paulhan was involved in various journals very early on and thus learned about the organisation and administration of such publications. He joined the NRF in 1919, gradually taking on more administrative responsibilities. As chief editor, he adopted Rivière ‘s way of working but at the same time favouring a more collegial approach and setting up an editorship cabinet. Nonetheless he had to wait until his appointment as director to really make his mark, carefully balancing the orthodox and the outlandish. An adept of the moderns, he wanted however the NRF to be both moderate and daring, preserving a certain classicism and opening the journal to young authors. As such, he was perhaps the most important cultural impresario of this century.