Canadian literary journal. Its foundation in 1959 by a group including the novelist Godbout gave an outlet for the new cultural and intellectual energies in Quebec which marked the beginnings of the Révolution Tranquille. Unlike the slightly later Parti pris, Liberté had no declared political position, but in the general fervour for reform of the times it shared many of the demands of its more radical sister journal, especially the call for French unilingualism in Quebec as the necessary condition of cultural survival. Its eclecticism has enabled it to outlive Parti pris. Although no longer as influential as in the past, it is still a force on the Quebec literary scene, being particularly noted for its special numbers.
Liberté is also the title of the collected prose writings of Senghor.
[Ian Lockerbie]
