What is Literature?

Ever wonder if your writing truly matters? Discover how to move beyond mere entertainment and transform your words into powerful tools for change. Learn why for Jean-Paul Sartre, literature isn't just art—it's a call to action that demands both writer and reader engage with the world. Unpack the core of existentialist thought and see how the act of writing is an exercise in freedom. You'll explore the crucial difference between poetry and prose, understand your unique responsibility as a writer in a specific time and place, and learn how to imbue your work with a purpose that resonates long after the last page is turned.

Nobel Prize-winning philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre was the central figure of existentialism, a movement that defined twentieth-century intellectual life and reshaped our understanding of freedom. As a novelist, playwright, and activist, he lived his philosophy, arguing that literature is not mere entertainment but a powerful tool for social and political engagement. This belief, forged in the crucible of wartime Paris, is the very foundation of his essential work, What is Literature?.